
Class _i4_3 
Book_JilI 
CilTigIitN?_ 



a 



COFmiGHT DEPOSm 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



WITH 



PLANS FOR HOME PROJECTS 



BY 

ARETAS W. NOLAN, 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION, 

UNIVERSITY OP ILLINOIS, AUTHOR OF "ONE 

HUNDRED LESSONS IN AGRICULTURE." 



CHICAGO NEW YORK 

ROW, PETERSON AND COMPANY 






Copyright, 1919 
KOW, PETERSON 
AND COMPANY 



©CLA511581 



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INTRODUCTION 

Practical farmers often wonder what the schools can teach 
in the way of agriculture. Those of us who advocate agri- 
culture as a school subject have been trying to answer this 
question for both the farmer and the educator. Some phases 
of the question are quite clear to progressive farmers as well 
as to teachers. 

We do not propose to teach farmers how to "run their 
own business," but we do propose to teach both young and 
old farmers facts and principles which they can profitably 
use in their business. 

It concerns us all, whatever our vocation and station in 
life may be, whether farming be done efficiently or not. It 
is no longer merely an individual matter as to whether Farmer 
X runs his own farm efficiently or not; it is a question also 
of public welfare. But the farmer in serving the larger 
interest also insures his private welfare. 

It is an educational-economical proposition, that only those 
who know and care should be entrusted with the natural 
resources upon the wise use and conservation of which rest 
the prosperity and permanency of our nation. Many genera- 
tions of farmers of the past have learned how to prosper 
and grow rich from the virgin resources of the land. They 
learned and practiced the art of farming for these purposes 

5 



g INTRODUCTION 

and passed this knowledge down from father to son ; but they 
knew little of the science of agriculture or of the sciences 
upon which agriculture is based. 

Young men and women can learn in schools how to improve 
and conserve the fertility of the soil; how to improve the 
economic plants so that they may be better adapted to their 
surroundings and have better yielding qualities; how to 
improve farm animals so that there may be greater produc- 
tion and better quality of products; how to combat insect 
pests and diseases; how to bring about a more productive, 
profitable, and permanent agriculture; and how to organize 
a more satisfying country life. These are the demands of 
modern agriculture. 

The farmer should be lord of the three kingdoms over 
which he rules. The plants, the animals, and the minerals 
are his domain ; his farm is made up of these three kingdoms. 
How unfortunate for all if he does not know the plants, 
animals and minerals wdth which he deals. What would 
we think of a physician who did not know the science of 
physiology or chemistry? What could the lawyer hope to 
do who did not know the laws of his state, or the principles 
underlying legal practice? 

The young farmers who are now studying scientific agri- 
culture know that they must be masters of the kingdoms with 
which they deal: they must know plants, animals and min- 
erals; how to produce, protect, and improve in the best and 
most economical way their plants and animals; and how to 
conserve and use most v/isely the mineral resources of 
their farms. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 
PART I, AGRONOMY 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I How Plants Grow 9 

II Wheat 13 

Notebook Questions 21 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 22 

III Oats 26 

Notebook Questions 28 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 29 

IV Clo\t:r 32 

Notebook Questions 37 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 37 

V Alfalfa 40 

Notebook Questions 46 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 47 

VI Meadows and Pastures 49 

Notebook Questions 51 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 51 

VII Corn 53 

Notebook Questions 84 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 86 

VIII Soils 91 

Notebook Questions 121 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 123 

PART II, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 

IX Farm Animals and Live-Stock Farmiag 131 

X The Horse 133 

Notebook Questions 155 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 156 

XI Dairy Cattle and Their Products 159 

Notebook Questions 175 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 175 

XII Swine 179 

Notebook Questions 194 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 194 

XIII Poultry 197 

Notebook Questions 210 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 210 



3 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PART III, FARM BUSINESS AND LIFE 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XIV The Business of Farming 214 

Notebook Questions 224 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 224 

XV Country Life Organizations 227 

Notebook Questions 234 

XVI Rural Life Progress 236 

Notebook Questions 240 

PART IV, HORTICULTURE 

XVII Farm Forestry 241 

Notebook Questions 253 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 253 

XVIII Fruit Growing on the Farm 259 

Notebook Questions 279 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 279 

XIX The Home Garden 286 

Notebook Questions 304 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 305 

XX The Country Beautiful 309 

Notebook Questions 313 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 314 

PART V, HOME PROJECTS 

1. Poultry Raising 317 14. Growing Strawberries... 360 

2. Keeping Dairy Cows 320 15. Growing Sweet Peas 363 

3. Pig Raising „ 323 16. BeautifyingHome 

4. Corn Growing 327 Grounds 365 

5. Some Insect Studies 331 17. Care of Fruit Trees 369 

6. Growing Alfalfa 332 18. Planting a Catalpa Grove 373 

7. Soil Fertility and Alfalfa 334 19. Growing Sudan Grass. . . 375 

8. Vegetable Gardening 341 20. Making a Concrete Walk 376 

9. Tomato Raising .347 21. Making a Farm Gate 378 

10. Potato Raising » 350 22. The Young Farmer's 

11. Onion Growing 354 Business Office 379 

12. Cucumber Growing 356 23. Farm, Home and Com- 

13. Sweet Corn Culture 359 munity Survey 382 

APPENDIX 

Constitution and By-Laws of the High-School Agricultural 

and Country Life Club 388 

References 391 

Index 392 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

PART I 
AGRONOMY 

CHAPTER I 

HOW PLANTS GROW 

The chief concern of the farmer is the growing of plants. 
It is for the plants that he improves the fertility of his soils. 
It is the plants upon which he feeds his animals. It is the 
plants, directly or indirectly, that he sells for money or eats 
as food. It is for the protection of plants that he com- 
bats the insects and diseases; and for the cultivation and 
harvesting of plants that he purchases and uses farm 
machinery. 

Our study of agriculture will therefore begin with plants, 
and as we proceed we shall learn the latest and best known 
methods of the production and use of the economic plants 
of our section of the country. 

Human interest in plants. Whether he knows it or not, 
everyone has a vital interest in plant life. The life of man 
and animal depends almost entirely on plants or plant prod- 
ucts. From the fruit on our table to the clothing we wear, 

9 



10 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the houses we live iiij, the vehicles we ride in, and the art we 
enjoy, the plant interest is an important factor. Most of 
the world's great industries are carried on with raw mate- 
rial derived from plants. The farmer, the gardener, the 
lumberman, the carpenter, the shipbuilder, the cotton manu- 
facturer, the sail-maker, and even the miner, all depend upon 
the products of the plant life that is or was on the earth or 
in the sea. The air which we breathe is purified partly 
through the processes by which the green plants live. Human 
life could not continue long without the aid of substances 
produced by the life and growth of plants. 

How plants grow. Let us begin at the beginning of a 
typical plant growth and trace the steps and processes in 
its development. If we start with the seed of a higher plant 
for our study, we have not begun at the beginning, for this 
was made back in the blossom when the seed was forming. 
The seed of the plant consists of a tiny plant imbedded in 
a cotyledon, the bulky portion of the seed, resting in its 
development until favorable surroundings start it again in 
growth. 

A good seed is, of course, alive and healthy. It is true to 
the parents which produced it. It is large and plump, show- 
ing that it has a maximum amount of food supply. In quan- 
tity it is clean and free from foreign matter. When this 
seed is placed in medium temperature, with sufficient moisture 
and plenty of air, it will begin to grow, to germinate. This 
favorable surrounding for most seeds is made in the soil of 
the seed-bed. By germination we mean that the moisture 
absorbed into the cotyledons begins to dissolve the starchy 



HOW PLANTS GROW H 

material, which can then be used for the growth of the young 
root and leaves in the plant. The tiny roots push out into 
the soil, root-hairs establish connections with the soil particles, 
and the roots begin to absorb the mineral plant-foods in 
solution. 

The shoot breaks through the surface of the soil, unrolls 
the leaves, and the sunlight helps to change the materials 
of the soil so that they can be assimilated into the parts of 
the growing plant. In the presence of sunlight, and under 
the life principle in the growing plant, the carbon dioxide 
of the air enters the breathing pores of the leaf, and com- 
bines with the water taken up by the roots to form the sugar 
and starch substances in the leaves. The excess of water 
needed to bring up the minerals is thrown off from the leaves 
by transpiration, and the excess of oxygen taken in to supply 
the carbon in the carbon dioxide gas is also given off through 
the leaves as free oxygen. The starch material thus made 
in the presence of and by the help of the green particles in 
the leaf and the sunlight is then changed to sugar and is car- 
ried by the cells downward and outward to the various tis- 
sues of the growing plant to be assimilated into root, stem, 
leaf, and later into flower and fruit. This process continues 
until the plant has reached its full maturity. 

It will be of interest to note that considerable work is done 
in causing a plant to grow. In the corn plant, for instance, 
for every pound of dry matter produced, 350 pounds of water 
must pass through the leaves and be transpired into the air. 
It has been determined that this represents an energy in an 
acre of corn producing fifty bushels equivalent to 375 horses 



12 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



working 16 hours a day for 120 days. All this energy, how- 
ev^er, is not lost, because the carbon stored in the grain and 
body of the plant, when burned or eaten by man or beast, 
is transformed again into energy, heat, and life processes. 

Before the plant whose history we are tracing is finally 
mature, steps are taken to reproduce the species before it 
dies. Somewhere upon the plant special adaptations are 
made for the development of the reproductive cells. These 
adaptations constitute the flowers. Two kinds of cells are 
produced. They may be in the same flower or in different 
flowers. The female or egg cell is formed as the foundation 
of the seed in the pistil of the flower in which the future 
embryo is to develop. The male cell is formed as a pollen 
grain in the stamen of the flower. Before the embryo plant 
will develop and the seed mature, there must be a union of 
the male and female cells of the plant. The agencies fo»r 
bringing these two cells together vary widely. Among the 
plants, gravity, winds, and insects are the common agencies*-. 
When the pollen cell and the egg cell unite, then the embryo 
plant begins to f onn. The little leaves, the short stem on. which 
the roots develop, the cotyledons containing the plant-food 
for the developing embryo mature, and the seed enters a 
dormant or resting period, awaiting the time when undefr 
favorable conditions it may begin the growth as mentioned 
at the beginning of this discussion. 



CHAPTER II 
WHEAT 

As source of world's food supply. Wheat, bread would 
sustain life better than any other one article of food in' the 
world. The average amount of Avheat eaten by each person 
in the United States is five bushels a year. This is equiva- 
lent to a barrel of flour, or about two hundred and 
fifty loaves of bread. Fortunately, wheat is grown in almost 
every part of the temperate zones. 

Varieties. Wheat, the source of the world's most impor- 
tant food, is a grass. Man gets much of his food from the 
grasses of the field. There are eight principal species of cul- 
tivated wheat : einkorn, spelt, emmer, durum, poulard, Polish, 
club, and common wheat. There are two hundred and forty- 
five leading varieties of wheat. Wheat is classified into hard 
and soft varieties, depending upon the relative degree of 
hardness of the ripe grain; and into spring and winter 
wheats according to whether they will mature when sown in 
the spring or in the autumn preceding harvest. 

In the selection of varieties, the most important considera- 
tions are winter hardiness, stiffness of straw, high yielding 
and disease resisting powers, and good milling qualities. 
Among the best yielding varieties recommended for gen- 
eral use in the North Central States are Rudy, Farmer's 

13 



WHEAT 15 

Friend, Mealy, Gold Coin, Winter King, Michigan Amber, 
Red Wave, Grains o' Gold, Tennessee Fultz, Blue Stem, and 
Turkey Red. 

Places of wheat in the rotation. Wheat should never be 
grown on the same land continuously. Some kind of crop 
rotation must be practiced in order to get the best results. 
What the other crops should be and how many different 
ones should be included in the rotation, will depend upon 
a number of factors. One thing, however, is well estab- 
lished; that is, that some kind of a legume, usually clover, 
should have a place in the rotation. In a system of grain 
farming, the following rotations are good: 

1. Wheat 1. Corn 

2. Corn 2. Oats 

3. Oats 3. Wheat 

4. Clover 4. Clover 

Sell only the grain, or better, feed it to the stock on the 
farm, and return all the rest to the soil, using limestone and 
rock phosphate as mineral foods where needed. 

Many state experiment stations have shown beyond ques- 
tion that rotation of crops has brought higher yields of 
wheat than annual cropping. It must be said here, however, 
that crop rotation alone, even though a legume be Included 
in the system, will not maintain permanent soil fertility. 
That, however, is another question, and will be taken up 
again under soils. 

Preparing the soil. Preparation of wheat ground will 
depend upon the nature of the soil and upon the previous 
crop. Some farmers soav wheat in standing corn in Septem- 



16 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

ber. The thorough cultivation of the corn crop has preparec 
the soil for the wheat. A much better practice consists ii 
cutting off the corn and thoroughly disking and harrowing 
the ground before drilling the wheat. When wheat follows 
oats, the ground should be carefully plowed and harrowec 
as soon as possible after harvesting the oats. Wheat likes £ 
firm sub-surface and a fine ''onion tilth" for a seed-bed 
When wheat follows clover, the plowing may be delayed tc 
get the advantage of some second growth clover to plow under 
but this must be done early enough to allow the seed-bed tc 
settle before sowing the wheat. 

Seed time. The best time to sow winter wheat in the 
central states varies from the second week in September tc 
the first week in October. On fertile, well-prepared soil, 
seeding may safely be done later than where conditions are 
less favorable. 

On account of the danger of trouble with the Hessian fly, 
it is advisable to delay seeding as late as possible. Late sown 
wheat often escapes infestation from the fly, and will often 
be just as far ahead when winter comes on as the earlier 
sown wheat. For spring wheat the land may either be plowed 
in the fall or early in the spring. The preparation of the 
seed-bed from fall or spring plowed land does not differ from 
the practices already described. 

Methods of sowing. Wheat does better when sown with 
a drill. From experiments in drilling and broadcasting the 
results have invariably been in favor of drilling, especially 
with winter wheat. Drilling requires less seed for a full 
uniform stand, and insures better germination. Drilled wheat 



WHEAT 17 

will stand the winter better than that which is sown broad- 
cast. If the ground is trashy, a disk drill will do the best 
work, but on clean, well-prepared ground, any good seed drill 
is efficient. Seed wheat should be run through the fanning 
mill to remove the weed seeds, dirt, chaff, and damaged 
kernels. 

Rate of seeding. With medium-sized seed of good qual- 
ity, on a well-prepared and fertile soil, from four to six 
pecks per acre will usually be sufficient for sowing. Every 
farmer must determine for himself, according to the condi- 
tions of his own land, how much seed should be used. Winter 
wheat is not sown as thickly as spring wheat. The rate is 
less on poor soils than on rich soils. 

Seed selection. The selection of good seed is a factor in 
wheat production which should receive the careful attention 
of every farmer. As a means of increasing his whe^at yield, 
the farmer can well afford to select his seed out of the best 
portion of his crop, to use the fan mill, and to grade it in' 
such a way as to get the largest and plumpest seed for 
sowing. 

From careful tests in many experiments, it has been shown 
that large and plump seeds have yielded from one to five 
bushels more per acre than the smaller and lighter seeds. It 
pays, therefore, to take the trouble to grade seeds so as to 
get the largest and heaviest seeds for sowing. A good fan- 
ning mill is the simplest and most practical means of grading 
seed on the farm, and every farmer who grows small grain 
to any considerable extent should have one. 

Any variety of wheat can be improved and kept from ' ' run- 



18 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

ning out" by careful seed selection and good soil treatment. 

Management of wheat after harvesting. Much loss in 
the value of the wheat crop results every year due to expos- 
ure in the shock before threshing. When wheat stands in 
the shock for several weeks exposed to the weather, the grain 
loses its brightness and the bran becomes brittle, so that when 
milled the bran crumbles into the flour, producing inferior 
grades. Fermentation and sprouting may also occur in the 
shock and cause serious injury. Whenever wheat cannot be 
threshed as soon as it is dry enough, it is advisable to stack 
it, for the market value of the grain at threshing time will 
often be enough higher to pay for the extra trouble. 

Wheat diseases. The wheat crop is subject to the rav- 
ages of several diseases. There are two more or less common 
diseases reducing the yield of wheat. First, S7nut is a para- 
site which destroys the kernels in the head, and substitutes 
its own reproductive parts or spores in place of them. In 
the second place, parasites, such as scales, rusts, etc., attack 
the stalk or leaves of the plant, absorbing the nourishment 
and dwarfing the kernels. Scientists have not yet succeeded 
in working out methods which will control or prevent all the 
diseases to which the wheat plant is subject. Experiment 
stations all emphasize the importance of treating seed wheat 
with formaldehyde as a disinfectant. This will prevent the 
*' stinking smut," and greatly reduce other diseases. 

Insect enemies of wheat. The loss of wheat each year 
from insect pests is very great. The Hessian fly, the joint- 
worm, and the wheat-stem maggot are three insects taking 
heaviest toll from our fields. 



WHEAT 



19 



The Hessian fly. Tlie adult insect is a small, almost black, 
two-winged fly, resembling the mosquito, and of about the 
same size. As a rule the flies remain close to the ground, 
and in the fall, when they are most abundant, they may be 




FIG. 3. LIFE HISTORY OF THE HESSIAN FLY 



seen depositing their little pink eggs in the grooves of the 
upper surface of the leaves. The eggs hatch into the larvae, 
which change from a pinkish to a greenish-white tinge when 
full grown. The larva goes into the pupa or *' flaxseed" 
stage, a period of resting in which the larva is encased in a 



20 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

brownish leathery covering resembling a flaxseed. This is 
found at the base of the plant in the fall. 

There are two generations of the fly during the year, one 
in the spring and one in the fall. The adults issue from the 
flaxseed on the stubble in September and deposit their eggs 
on the young plant. The larvae hatch and work their way 
down into the leaf sheath, where they change to the flaxseed 
stage and remain over winter. The infested plant has no 
central shoot, is leafy and stocky, and is likely to die out in 
the winter. The spring generation of the fly attacks the stem 
near the joints, weakens the stem, and causes the plant to 
fall before the harvest. 

Proper fertilization and culture may assist the plant to 
resist the attack of the fly, and late sowing may avoid 
infestation. 

The joint-worm. The adult of this worm is a small, black, 
four-winged insect resembling a winged ant. The grub is 
white and about an eighth inch long. The entire life history 
of this pest is spent within the stem of the wheat. In the 
spring the larva changes to the pupa, and this soon changes 
to the adult, which gnaws a hole in the stem and emerges. 
The stem is often warty and knotty at the joints, causing it 
to bend or break. Upon opening one of these joints a small 
grub will be found. There is no remedy once a field becomes 
badly infested with joint-worm. The plants can be strength- 
ened and helped to resist the attack only by maintaining 
soil fertility and good cultural methods. • 

Keeping up the fertility of the soil so that plants may be 
properly fed, good systems of crop rotation, and clean culti- 



WHEAT 21 

vation will contribute much to the success of the farmer in 
his effort to combat insect pests and plant diseases. 

Notebook Questions 

1. Why is wheat a more popular cereal for bread than 
corn ? 

2. How does wheat rank in production of bushels with 
the other leading farm crops in this country? What is the 
leading wheat country of the world? Which states of this 
country lead in wheat production? 

3. What is the average yield per acre in your state ? What 
yields have good farmers and state experiment stations 
obtained ? 

4. What does it cost to produce an acre of wheat in your 
locality? What is the current price of wheat on the market? 

5. What good qualities should be sought in choosing a 
variety of wheat to sow? 

6. What is the value of grading seed? How is it most 
simply done ? 

7. What is the place of wheat in a good system of crop 
rotation ? 

^. What fertilizers are needed in most soils to insure a 
larger crop of wheat? 

9. What are the best methods of combating diseases and 
insect pests of wheat? 

10. What is meant by ''bonanza" wheat farming? Where 
is it practiced? What is the future of this method? 

11. What is the value of covering winter wheat with 
straw ? 

12. Since we can open up little more land to cultivation, 
and the population of our country is increasing at the rate 
of twenty-five per cent each decade, how is the bread supply 
of the future to be obtained? 



22 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

1. The wheat grain. Examine grains of wheat that have 
been soaked a few hours in water. The use of a hand lens 
will assist in this examination. 

On one side of the grain note the deep furrow or crease. 
On the opposite side at the bottom there is a small, rough, 
circular spot called the embryo or germ. Within it are folded 
the first root and leaves of the young wheat plant. The top 
part of the grain is covered with tiny hairs which together 
are called the hrusli. The base is the opposite end of the 
grain. 

Cut one grain lengthwise with the crease and the other 
across it. Note the color of the interior. Flour is made from 
the interior portion of the grain. The grain is surrounded 
by a hull which furnishes the bran. How many coats can 
you find in this hull covering the grain? About seventy-five 
per cent of the grain is made into flour, the rest is bran and 
shorts or middlings. 

Draw cross and longitudinal sections of the wheat grain. 
Draw also a whole grain, labeling the parts observed as 
directed above. Keep a neat notebook record of all obser- 
vations, facts noted, and drawings made. 

2. The head of wheat. If possible at this season, pro- 
vide each student with a few heads of wheat. Let each 
student examine the head of wheat closely, verifying the 
statements and answering the questions below: 

The head of wheat is a spike. The central stem of the spike 
is called the racliis. The racliis is notched on two sides and 
from each of these notches there grows a very short stem or 
spikelet, that has attached to it several bunches of small 
husks containing seeds. How many grains to the spikelet? 
There are two chaffy parts around each spikelet, called outer 
glumes. Each kernel in the spikelet is enclosed on the out- 



WHEAT 23 

side by a flowering glume; inside of this is the palea. There 
may be one or more sterile flowers in the spikelet which did 
not develop into kernels of wheat. 











GERM - 


/ 


■»* 1/ Jl ' ■ 


STARCH 
CUuLS 


i 


1 




' 



FIG. 4. KERNEL OF WHEAT 

Kemove all the spikelets from a head of wheat. Draw the 
racliis. Draw a grain with its chaffy parts opened, and label 
the palea, the grain, the flowering glume, and the outer glume. 

Count the grains in one spike of wheat. Find average of 
all grains counted in the different heads by the class. Are 
there any empty glumes in your spike of wheat ? What may 
have caused empty glumes? 

3. Wheat samples report. Provide each student with 
100 grains of wheat as a sample. Copy the following report 
card in your notebook, and fill out properly from your obser- 
vation of the sample of wheat given: 

Report Card 

WHEAT 

Name 

No. Sample » 

Variety 



24 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

f Whitish per cent 

^^^^^ \Red per cent 

J Hard and vitreous per cent 

Hardness ^g^^^ ^^^ starchy per cent 

Size of JLarge per cent 

Grain \Small per cent 

Unsound grain per cent 

Foreign matter per cent 

Weight of 100 grains grams 

Remarks 



EXPLANATION OF POINTS 

Color. Whitish wheat is of a clear, somewhat yellowish color. Red 

may be from dull to clear. 
Hardness. Hard shows little or no starchy portion. Soft shows 

nothing but starch. 
Size. Large size grains include those measuring 14 inch or more in 

length and with a proportional width and thickness. 

4. The wheat plant. Go to the wheat field or to some 
place where volunteer wheat is growing, select a well-devel- 
oped wheat plant, loosen the soil about its roots, and remove 
it with as many of its roots attached as possible. Wash the 
soil from the roots as thoroughly as possible and take to the 
laboratory for study. Each pupil (or each two) should be 
provided with a plant, and should examine and report upon 
all points as follows: 

What kinds of roots has the wheat plant ? Note the enlarged 
place where the roots and stalk meet; this place is called the 
stool. The characteristic of the wheat to spread out over a 
small area and take root is called tillering or stooling. How 
many stems has your plant? The stems are called cuhns. 
How many leaves on your plant? Where do they start? 
Carefully tear a leaf from the cuhn, and notice how the lower 



WHEAT 25 

part of the leaf surrounds the cuhn. This part is called the 
sJieatJi, and the loose part of the leaf is the leaf blade. The 
faint ring from Avhich the leaves start is the node. Count 
the nodes. The space between the nodes is the internode. 
Note the length of the internodes. Split the culm and exam- 
ine the inside. 



CHAPTER III 
OATS 

Items of general interest. Oats, as a farm crop, have 
come into such prominence with the development of the cen- 
tral and northern portions of this country that now they are 
one of the important cereals of these sections. Like other 
cereals, the oat is an annual grass, with jointed stem and 
fibrous roots system. One seed usually produces from three 
to seven stems having a height which varies from two to five 
feet. The flower of oats is in the form of a panicle, consist- 
ing of a central stem from which numerous branches are 
given off, bearing the spikelets of flowers. The developed 
kernel remains tightly enclosed within the flowering glume 
and palea. 

Types of oats. Oats may be divided, according to the 
appearance of the panicle, into two classes; spreading or 
closed. Oats may be classified into spring or winter varieties. 
They may also be divided into early, medium, and late varie- 
ties, based upon the time of ripening. Sixty-days is a well 
known early variety, while Siberian, Swedish Select, and 
American Banner are common, medium, and late varieties. 
On the market, oats are classed according to color of the 
grain; as white, black, and mixed oats. 

Adaptation. Oats are best adapted to a cool, moist cli- 

?6 



OATS 27 

mate, and therefore do best in northern sections of the coun- 
try. Oats have a wide adaptation to soils, and fair yields may 
be secured on almost all types of soils in cool, moist climates. 
Oats draw heavily upon tlie moisture and fertility of the soil. 

Place in the rotation. Oats usually follow corn in the 
rotation in the corn belt states. Common four-year rotations 
are: corn, wlieatj oats^ and clover; com, oats, clover, and 
ivJieat; or corn, corn, oa-ts, and clover. When the farmer 
desires to get a stand of clover or alfalfa under oats, the 
best results are obtained by using an early variety of oats. 

Preparation of seed-bed. Oats, being hardy plants, re- 
quire less preparation of the ground for seeding than most 
other grain crops. In many places oats are seeded on the 
corn ground without any previous preparation. Sometimes 
they are sown broadcast and covered with a disk or spike- 
tooth harrow. They are often sown with a disk drill, in 
which case a more uniform stand is secured and usually a 
larger yield is obtained. 

Time and rate of seeding. Best results are usually obtained 
from early sowing. The best time to sow oats is as soon as 
the soil is dry enough in the spring to get on to it with horses 
and implements. Seed oats should be run through a fanning 
mill to remove small kernels, sticks, trash, and weed seeds. 
The rate of seeding varies from six to ten or more pecks per 
acre, the common rate being about eight pecks per acre. 

Harvesting. Oats are harvested by methods similar to 
those of wheat. When the heads have turned yellcJw and the 
grains have reached the hard dough stage they should 
be cut. In order that the oats may dry thoroughly the bun- 



28 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

dies are set up in shocks of ten to twelve bundles each. 
Thrash from the shock as soon as they have dried out, or 
from the stack as in the ease of wheat. 

Uses of oats. The greater part of the oat crop is used for 
feeding live stock. They are relatively high in protein, the 
muscle-building material, and are therefore valuable for young 
animals, and for feeding horses at heavy work. Oats have 
long been used as a human food, in the form of oatmeal or 
ground oats. Oats straw is very valuable for feeding live 
stock. It is frequently used as roughage for keeping stock 
over Avinter. It is also valuable for bedding. Oats may also 
be used to supply quick temporary pastures for all kinds of 
live stock. 

Smut of oats. The most destructive disease that attacks 
the oats is the loose smut. It may be recognized in the field 
by the black powdery spores that attack the heads and pre- 
vent the grain and the glumes from developing. The cov- 
ered smut is a similar disease, affecting only the kernels of 
the oats, which are displaced by black spore masses. Methods 
for controlling these smuts are described in the practical' 
exercises and home projects of this chapter. 



Notebook Questions 

1. How does the value of the oats crop in your com- 
munity compare with that of other grain crops? 

2. What are the common returns per acre for oats in 
your community ? What should reasonably be expected under 
improved conditions of soil, seed, etc.? 

3. Why are oats seeded as early as possible in the spring? 



OATS 29 

4. List a number of uses that oats serve. 

5. Name the common varieties of oats. 

6. How is oats smut successfully controlled? 

7. What is the current price of oats on the market? 

8. What is the legal weight per bushel of oats ? 

9. What are the leading oat-producing countries of the 
world ? 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

1. Study of the oat plant. 

(a) Each student should be provided with a specimen of 
the mature oat plant including stalks, leaves, and panicles. 

(b) Explanation of terms: 

Panicle — The complete ''head" of oats. 

Eadiis — The straight stem forming the axis of the 

panicle. 
S pikelets — Branches from the rachis, bearing the 

grains. 
Glumes, palea, etc. — Same as in wheat, 
(e) Make a sketch of an oat head, showing all these parts. 
Label each part of the drajving. 

(d) Note the following points, and make notations in 
your notebook: 

X. Number of grains to a spikelet. Number of infer- 
tile flowers. 

2. Number of glumes to a grain. 

3. Haw do flowering glumes and outer glumes differ 
from those in wheat? 

4. Compare wheat and oats in amount of sfooling 
and in amount of leaf surface. 

2. Problema for oat panicles. 

(a) Each student should have a well filled panicle of oats 
for this problem. 



30 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



1. Number of grains in the panicle 

2. Total weight of grains 

3. Number grains per pound 

4. Number panicles to make a bushel 

5. Number panicles per acre to make 100 bush- 

els 

6. Number panicles per square foot to make 

100 bushels per acre 

3. Examination of sample of oats for seed. 

(a) Count out 100 grains of oats for this exercise. 

Examine the oats and fill out the following table: 



(b) 



Color 



Size 



C Yellowish 
1 Reddish . 
( Large . . . 



I Small 

Unsound grain and foreign matter 

Weight of 100 grains 

Number grains per pound 

Number sown per square foot, 2 bushels 

per acre 

Number grains in 5 grams 

Per cent of hulls 



• % 

• % 
•% 
.% 
■ % 

. grams 



•% 



4. Treating" oats for smut. This exercise may be made a 
demonstration at the school or some nearby farm home, or 
it may be carried on as a home project. 

Take a pound of formalin (formaldehyde, 40 per cent) and 
dissolve it in 50 gallons of water. Spread the grain out on 
a clean floor and wet it thoroughly with the solution, using 
about a gallon for each bushel of the grain. The work can 
be easily and thoroughly done if one person shovels the oats 
over while another applies the solution with a sprinkling 
can. Then stack the grain up in a pile, cover it over with 
carpets or blankets to retain the fumes of the formalin, and 



OATS 31 

allow it to remain two or three hours, or even over night. 
Spread the grain out to dry before seeding. It should not 
be returned to the same bags, unless they are treated with 
the solution. 

Describe in detail in your notebook the method used in 
this project. 



CHAPTER IV 

CLOVER 

The Queen of King Corn. Dr. Cyril G. Hopkins of the 
University of Illinois has written a little circular which he 
calls "The Story of a King and Queen.'' Corn is the king, 
and clover the queen. In this circular Dr. Hopkins says: 

** Young King Corn found an ideal home for himself on 
the dark prairie soil, .and for many years he lived as a very 
independent bachelor ; but there finally came a time when the 
supply of food which he had found already prepared in the 
soil became partially exhausted, and in hunger he said to 
himself, ' It is not good for man to be alone. ' He then sought 
a princess named 'Clover,' and thereafter always rejoiced that 
she consented to be his Queen. Where she prepared the soil, 
King Corn was again as well fed as ever. 

*' Years passed, and they were happy and prosperous years; 
but finally both corn and clover were forced to remember the 
ancient saying, 'And this too shall pass away.' King Corn 
began to complain again that his bed was getting hard and 
the food furnished him was not sufficient. Queen Clover 
replied that she, too, was suffering from hunger, and that her 
home in the soil which had always been sweet and clean was 
becoming sour." 

32 



CLOVER 



33 



Thus the story continues, telling the relations of clover to 
soil and crops. 

Red clover. This "Keel Plumed Knight," as it is fre- 
quently called by its admirers, is a native of Persia. Clover 
is more generally grown as a forage crop than any other 

legume; it is adapted to a wide 
variety of soils and climates; it is 
rich in nitrogen and furnishes a 
large amount of organic matter for 
green manure; it is nutritious, 
palatable, and valuable as a feed- 
ing substance; and it occupies an 
important place in crop rotation. 
It is a perennial, and, like most 
other clovers, does best on deep, 
rich loam that is well drained. 

Soil preparation. When the soil 
is in the best possible tilth, the 
clover "catch" is surer. Lime in 
considerable quantities must be 
present in the soil, and other min- 
eral plant-foods, such as phosphorus and potassium, are nec- 
essary elements in the growth of clover. In order to establish 
a permanent and healthful soil for corn as well as for clover, 
about one-half ton per acre of pure steamed bone-meal, or a 
ton of fine-ground rock phosphate and two tons per acre of 
ground limestone, wdiere needed, should be applied once every 
four or five years. Although clover has the power of pro- 
curing most of its nitrogen supply from the air, through the 




FIG. 5. THE CLOVER 
PLANT 



34 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

bacteria on the roots, yet land rich in nitrogen grows the 
better clover crop. Liberal applications of barnyard manure 
as a top-dressing generally give good returns. 

Seeding". Clover seed may be sown broadcast in February, 
March or April on land seeded the previous fall to wheat or 
rye; or it may be seeded in the spring with oats or barley. 
From eight to twelve pounds of seed per acre is sown, if the 
seed is of good quality and the soil in good condition; other- 
wise the quantity should be increased. Sometimes red clover 
is sown in August or September, where the soil is in condi- 
tion to allow a good ''catch" before the winter. 

Clover in crop rotation. We can scarcely think of any 
good system of crop rotation without the use of clover or 
some other legume. For three-year rotations, such systems 
as corn, oats, and clover, or corn, wheat, and clover, are 
used. Four-year rotations (in grain farming) include wheat, 
corn, oats, and clover; or corn, corn, oats, and clover (in 
live-stock farming). In the four-year-rotation for grain farm- 
ing a ''catch" crop of clover may be seeded on the wheat 
ground and plowed under the next spring for corn, and the 
regular clover crop in the fourth year may be mowed once 
or twice and left lying on the land, the seed crop afterwards 
being harvested with a buncher attached to the mower. 

"In grain farming, only grain or seed should be sold from 
the farm; all clover, straw, and stalks being returned to the 
land in order to maintain the supply of organic matter and 
nitrogen, which are just as important as limestone and phos- 
phorus ; and in live-stock farming, all produce should be used 
for feed and bedding and all manure carefully saved and 



CLOVER 35 

returned to the land, preferably within a day or two after 
it is produced, in order to prevent the waste of plant-food. " 
— Illinois Experiment Station, Circular 145. 

Manural value of clover. A clover crop turned under 
furnishes fresh organic matter which decomposes rapidly, 
improving the physical condition of the soil, giving up avail- 
able nitrogen for the plant's use, and liberating, mineral 
plant-foods of the soil, otherwise unavailable as plant-food. 

One ton of clover hay contains as much nitrogen as four 
tons of stable manure, and, in addition, five pounds of phos- 
phorus, thirty pounds of potassium, eight pounds of mag- 
nesium, and about thirty pounds of calcium. There is about 
the same amount of nitrogen in the roots and stubble of 
clover as the clover obtained from the soil, so that removing 
the clover crop does not add any new supply of nitrogen to 
the soil. In systems of permanent soil fertility, clover must 
be used in the rotation, and either fed to live stock with the 
manure returned to the soil, or all of the crop but the seed 
turned under to supply the nitrogen and organic matter 
necessary for the maximum production of farm crops. 

As to whether one should turn under all the clover growth, 
either as manure or mulch, depends upon how much of the 
nitrogen it contains is needed to balance the phosphorus in 
the soil. If the second crop of clover is sufficient to balance 
the phosphorus, the first clover crop may be removed and 
the seed taken from {he second crop and the straw returned 
to the land. Where the soil needs both crops, the first crop 
may be clipped and left on the ground and a buncher used 
to cut the seed from the second crop. The whole growth with 



36 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the first clipped crop is then turned under as a green manure. 

Red clover as hay. Next to alfalfa, red clover is one of 
the most valuable forage crops for dairy feeding. In fact, 
red clover is a good feed for almost every farm animal. It 
furnishes a protein content to stock feed, giving a better bal- 
anced ration than timothy hay. Clover is also a good soiling 
crop, and should supply from eight to ten tons per acre for 
this purpose. Clover should be cut when free from moisture, 
raked into windrows, then allowed to cure in haycocks. The 
chief value of clover, like alfalfa, is contained in the leaves, 
and if the leaves dry in the swath and break off in handling 
much of the value is lost. 

If the crop gets wet while curing, the color, rich odor, and 
much of the palatability are lost. 

Red clover furnishes excellent pasture for stock of all 
kinds, but excessive pasturing results in the destruction of 
the plant. 

Clover seed. As was stated above, the seed is usually 
harvested from the second crop. The largest yields of seed 
are usually obtained when the first crop is cut early, because 
in this case the seed of the second crop will form earlier and 
possibly escape the second brood of clover seed midge, and 
other clover seed insects. It is a well known fact that bum- 
blebees, as they feed upon the clover blossom, pollenate the 
flowers and thus make possible fertile clover seed. For this 
reason, more than any other oftentimes, the first crop of 
clover is not a profitable seed crop, since bumblebees are not 
so abundant in the early summer. 

Clover should be cut for seed when the heads have turned 



CLOVER 37 

brown and the seeds are in the dough stage. The average 
yield is about two bushels per acre, but by controlling the 
insects the yield should be nearly doubled. 

Notebook Questions 

1. Why is Dr. Hopkin 's ' ' The Story of a King and Queen ' ' 
so well applied to corn and clover? 

2. Describe the clover plants as to the nature of the roots, 
stems, leaves, and flowers. 

3. What and how much plant-food does a ton of clover 
hay require? 

4. Describe a crop rotation system where clover enters as 
one crop. 

5. Where is clover seed sown? How much seed is required 
per acre? What is the current price of the seed? How may 
we increase the production and yield of clover seed? 

6. When is clover hay usually cut ? Describe the methods 
of harvesting and handling the hay. 

7. Explain the value of clover as a green manure crop. 

8. Try to show whether it is more profitable to turn 
under the clover crop or to cut it as hay in a system of per- 
manent soil fertility. 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

1. The clover plant. Dig up a clover plant, get as many 
roots as possible, wash them clean, and bring the whole plant 
to the laboratory for study. 

Observe and note the following points : 

(a) Number and length of stems from the common root. 
Are stems erect, spreading, or twining? 

(b) Are there any branches? 



38 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

(c) Kind, niimber, and length of roots. Look for the 
nodules on the roots. These contain the bacteria which have 
the power of obtaining the free nitrogen from the soil air 
and storing it in the plant. 

(d) Kind, shape, and arrangement of the leaves. Sketch 
a leaf. 

(e) If the clover is in bloom, notice the location, form, 
and color of the blossom. 

(f ) If in seed, note kind, number, and shape of seed pods. 
Note the number of seeds in a pod. Draw a seed pod and 
an enlarged single seed. 

(g) Draw the whole plant in your notebook, showing 
roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. 

2. Examining and testing" clover seed for purity and g-er- 
mination. Clover seed frequently shows a weed content of 
from one to seven per cent, and a germination as low as forty 
per cent. It is, therefore, highly important that we have 
pure seed of high germination. 

(a) Count out 100 seeds from a sample given. Separate 
the seeds into three lots — good clover seed, weed seeds, and 
foreign matter. What percentage is good seed? How much 
would a farmer pay for a bushel of good seed at the rate per 
bushel of the seed examined? 

(b) Place 100 seeds on moist blotting paper laid in a 
shallow place. Lay a moist filter paper over the seeds, invert 
a second plate over the first, and set away for twenty-four 
hours. 

Examine and record the percentage of viable seeds. 
(The Crop Improvement Committee, 64 Board of Trade, 
Chicago, has an excellent blotter for small seed testing.) 

3. Examination of clover seed insects. There are three 
insects that must be guarded against in the raising of a good 
crop of clover seed: the seed midge, the seed chalcid, and 
the seed caterpillar. The female lays her eggs in the green 



CLOVER 39 

flower heads the latter part of May. The newly hatched 
larvae feed upon the young clover seed. 

Pupils should gather specimens of the larvae of the clover 
seed midge for examination. If the study is made in the sum- 
mer, collect clover heads partly green and partly in bloom, 
and place in tight glass jars. The larvae present will emerge, 
and may be seen and counted. In autumn larvae of various 
sizes may be found in dead clover heads, before they go to 
the ground to winter. Collect and examine a number of 
clover heads for the seed insects. 

Clover cut about the middle of June results in the killing 
of the undeveloped larvae and the saving of the seed crop. 

A clover head half red and half green usually indicates 
that the seed midge is present. 



CHAPTER V 

ALFALFA 

The plant. Alfalfa is an ideal forage plant. It belongs 
to the legume family, to which cow-peas, soy beans, and red 
clover belong. It was grown in southwestern Asia many cen- 
turies ago and came to California by way of South America 
at a very early date. Later it was successfully grown in 
Kansas, and since we have learned its requirements it is now 
being grown in every state of the Union. 

Why should the farmer who has forty acres of land buy 
the forty adjacent acres, when he can utilize the forty lying 
beneath and the forty lying above his present holdings by 
growing alfalfa? When we remember that the alfalfa root 
reaches down and draws much of its food from lower levels 
untouched, and that it utilizes large quantities of nitrogen 
occupying so fully the air above, than we can see that this 
reference to the forty below and the forty above is not alto- 
gether a myth. Since millions of dollars' worth of nitrogen 
is present over every acre of land, the farmer who grows 
alfalfa is literally a millionaire. His millions are in the air. 

Alfalfa is a perennial plant with purple flowers. The 
numerous stems which are produced arise from a crown ; they 
grow from fifteen to twenty-four inches long, and are erect 
or spreading. The long taproot penetrates to a great depth, 

40 



ALFALFA 41 

with many small secondary roots. There are three leaflets 
to each leaf, the third leaflet having a short stalk of its own, 
instead of growing from the same point, as in the case of 
red clover. The seed pods are in coils, brown when ripe, and 
contain several seeds. The seeds are somewhat kidney shaped 
and about the same size as red clover seeds. 

Values of alfalfa. There are three great values of alfalfa 
as a farm crop : 

First, it is one of the most profitable crops, commercially, 
that the farmer can grow. When he is able to cut from three 
to five tons of alfalfa hay per acre during one season, and sell 
this hay at from $15 to $20 per ton, he begins to realize the 
money value of alfalfa. It is not at all uncommon for a 
farmer to clear from $50 to $60 an acre on his alfalfa crop. 

Second, it is one of the most valuable live-stock feeds 
grown on the farm. Alfalfa is rich in protein, and thus helps 
to balance the ration in feeding corn, ensilage, or timothy 
hay. Alfalfa has been found to be the best general feed for 
dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, and even for swine and poul- 
try, in the production of what is most desired in these 
animals. 

Third, it fits into systems of crop rotation planned to 
maintain permanent soil fertility. Alfalfa being a legume, 
serves, as does the clover, to draw free nitrogen from the air 
to enrich the soil. The long, deep root system of the alfalfa 
enables it to feed below common soil levels, bringing to the 
surface soil increasing portions of organic matter and plant- 
food to be incorporated in the soil upon its disintegration 
and decay. 



42 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Growing" alfalfa. The growing of alfalfa is no longer a 
mystery. An Illinois farmer writes, ''During the unusually 
dry period of 1913 we harvested on our farm three full crops 
of about three and a half tons per acre and permitted a good 
fourth crop to remain on the land for winter protection. We 
thought that $66.50 per acre was sufficient for an unfavor- 
able farming year like 1913. '* 

There are many good reasons why more farmers should 
grow alfalfa. There need be no fear of overproduction should 
it result in the feeding of more live stock — an operation prof- 
itable both as a business and as a soil builder. In brief, 
alfalfa improves the physical condition of the soil by adding 
organic matter and by loosening it, owing to its deep roots. 
It improves the chemical condition by adding nitrogen and, 
in its disintegration, by liberating other plant-foods. It fur- 
nishes a forage food of first rank for the live stock on the 
farm, and as long as it sells from $15 to $20 per ton it will 
tend to fill the purse of the farmer as well. 

Soil requirements. Soil upon which alfalfa is to be grown 
should be well drained and should contain a good supply of 
organic matter, lime and phosphorus. On well-drained corn 
soils, liberal applications of limestone, two to five tons per 
acre, will usually prove helpful and profitable. In order to 
give alfalfa a good start, some phosphorus can be applied 
with profit. Five hundred pounds per acre of fine ground 
steam bone-meal or acid phosphate is quickly available plant- 
food for this purpose. Any good well-drained soil with plenty 
of lime, active organic matter, and phosphorus will grow 
alfalfa, providing there is no hard pan or rock within three 



ALFALFA 43 

or four feet of the surface to interfere with the development 
of the alfalfa root. 

Seeding" alfalfa. Alfalfa may be seeded in April if the 
soil is free from grass and weed seeds. June and July seed- 
ing give good results, but under favorable conditions best 
stands may be secured from August and September seeding. 
Many favor spring sowing with one bushel of oats per acre 
as a nurse crop. In this case it is best to mow the oats for 
hay before they mature. With this plan it is sometimes 
possible to harvest a fair crop of alfalfa in August. Alfalfa 
should not be pastured the first year. Fifteen to eighteen 
pounds of seed per acre is sufficient. 

In order to give alfalfa the best possible conditions, the 
ground should be prepared with great care. It should be 
plowed in the fall or early spring, and then stirred at least 
once a week from early spring until seeding time. Disking, 
harrowing, and rolling the ground in order to keep it worked 
up before seeding not only prepares a good seed-bed, but 
helps to keep out grass and weeds and to conserve the 
moisture. 

The ground may be prepared thoroughly after winter wheat 
or oats have been harvested, and if there has been sufficient 
summer rainfall to supply moisture, alfalfa may be seeded 
and get a good start without the loss of a season's crop. 

Inoculation. When alfalfa is sown for the first time in a 
field, inoculation is necessary to establish a permanent crop. 
The alfalfa plant will not get enough nitrogen from poor soil 
to insure successful growth Avithout the aid of the bacteria 
which are able to utilize the free nitrogen of the air. These 



44 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

bacteria must be supplied if they are not present. This is 
best done by scattering over the seed-bed just before or after 
seeding about half a wagonload per acre of natural, well 
infected soil, collected where tubercles containing the bacteria 
are found in abundance upon the roots of alfalfa or sweet 
clover plants. This infected soil should be immediately har- 
rowed in with the alfalfa seed. Care must be taken that the 
infected soil is not left exposed too long to bright sunlight, 
because sunlight destroys the bacteria. The glue method 
of inoculation is also practical. (See 4 below.) 



^"*'' 4"'^^ ^l'^'2 ^aXr' -';i "i^'"^ 



m 

i 





FIG. 6. HARVESTING ALFALFA 

Cutting- alfalfa. Alfalfa should be cut the first season 
whenever it seems to stop vigorous growth. In no case should 
any weeds be allowed to develop seeds, even if the alfalfa 
must be clipped and left to lie on the ground. The crop may 
be cut every five or six weeks. The rule commonly followed 
is to cut alfalfa when the new shoots from the crown are 
about one inch long. In the fall it should not be cut very 
late because of danger from winter killing. The practice of 



ALFALFA 45 

cultivating alfalfa after early season cuttings is recom- 
mended by some successful growers. The knives should not 
be set too slanting to endanger cutting off the crowns of the 
plants. Sometimes a spring tooth harrow is used. A corru- 
gated roller following the cultivating will help loosen the 
soil and make an effective soil mulch. 

Alfalfa hay is cured and harvested in about the same man- 
ner as red clover. It must not be allowed to lie in the swath 
to cure until the leaves, the most valuable part of the hay, 
are likely to be broken off and lost in the handling. 

The partly cured hay is put in small haycocks and cov- 
ered with haycaps for protection against the rain. These 
caps are made of canvas about forty inches square and held 
in place by balls of cement, each carrying a wire hook. It 
should remain in these haycocks until well cured; usually 
from two to four days are necessary. 

Summary op^ Directions for Growing Alfalfa 

1. Select a deep, well drained, fertile soil, as free as pos- 
sible from weeds. 

2. Before attempting to grow alfalfa it is well to grow 
a tilled crop a year or two previous to seeding the alfalfa. 

3. Prepare the seed-bed thoroughly ; an ideal onion tilth 
is best. 

4. Inoculate the land with from 100 to 300 pounds per 
acre of infected soil. If care is taken to prevent the alfalfa 
seed from gluing together, the glue method of inoculation 
may be used. Moisten the seed with a 10 per cent solution of 
glue (six ounces of furniture glue to one gallon of water) and 
immediately sift over them sufficient dry, pulverized, infected 



46 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

soil to absorb all of the moisture, thus furnishing a coating 
of infected soil for ever}^ seed. 

5. Apply at the outset, on worn soils especially, 400 
pounds per acre of some good carrier of phosphorus, and if 
the land lacks organic matter apply manure liberally. 

6. Apply from two to five tons of ground limestone per 
acre to the soil the previous fall or early in the spring before 
seeding. 

7. Seed the ground Avith a nurse crop of oats or barley in 
April, or sow alone on ground that has been thoroughly pre- 
pared between the fifteenth of July and the fifteenth of August 
with fifteen to tv/enty pounds of seed, and cover lightly with 
a smoothing harrow or weeder. 

8. Roll or firm the ground with a plank drag after 
planting. 

9. Avoid clipping or pasturing after the summer seeding. 

10. Cultivating the ground after the cuttings of alfalfa 
destroys weeds, loosens the ground, and encourages the 
growth. After five years the alfalfa field may be plowed up 
and included in a crop rotation, beginning with corn. 



Notebook Questions 

1. Why have there been so many failures in trying to 
grow alfalfa in this country? 

2. Why is alfalfa a good forage crop? 

3. Show statements explaining the probable costs and prof- 
its in growing an acre of alfalfa. 

4. Name the requirements for growing alfalfa in the order 
of their importance. 

5. Compare alfalfa and red clover as to habits of growth, 
culture requirements, feeding value, and place in crop rota- 
tion. 



ALFALFA 47 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

1. Field study of alfalfa. Location visited 

Date If possible, visit an alfalfa field, 

observe the following points, and write a description of each 
point from the field study : 

1. Number of plants per square foot. Average five. 

2. Height of plant. iVverage ten. 

3. Number branches per stem. Average five. 

4. Number shoots per crown. Average five. 

5. Diameter of taproot at crown base. 

6. General appearance of field as to thrift and color. 

7. Note the strong taproot with branches. 

8. Note number and position of lateral stem buds. 

9. Select as large a plant as possible, and carefully dig 
away the soil, removing the plant with the taproot 
and its branches. Sketch. 

10. Note the nodules and their position. 

11. Remove a few of the nodules and preserve them for 
further examination. 

12. General description of leafy portion. 

2. Growing a plot of alfalfa. If this study is made at the 
proper season, one practical exercise on alfalfa should be 
made by growing at least one-tenth of an acre on the school 
grounds. Prepare the ground, and follow carefully all direc- 
tions given in the discussions above in making this demonstra- 
tion plot of alfalfa. 

3. Examination of alfalfa seed for purity. 

(a) Examine the seeds, become familiar with their form 
and size. Sketch a few seeds. 

(b) Count out one hundred seeds from the sample in 
hand. Separate from this lot all weed seeds and estimate the 
per cent of purity. 



48 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

At the current price of alfalfa, what would a bushel of 
pure seed cost? How much would you have to buy of the 
quality you have just examined to get a bushel of pure seed ? 

(c) List the names of the weed seeds you find in the 
sample of alfalfa seed. 



CHAPTER VI 

MEADOWS AND PASTURES 

Our most important crop. The plants that grow in our 
meadows and pastures constitute our most valuable agricul- 
tural crop. The grasses and the legumes feed both our ani- 
mals and our economic plants, as we shall learn later in our 
study, and the meadows and the pastures contribute no small 
part to the beauty of the landscape in the open country. 

Forage crops. All such food for animals as grass, hay, 
pastures, etc., are known as forage crops. Fodder is the for- 
age dried and cured. Green fodder is forage cut and used 
before it ripens. Silage is chopped green forage stored in a 
silo. Stover is cornstalks from which the ears are removed. 
A soiling crop is one which is cut and fed green to animals. 
There are about fifty forage crops, classified as follows: 

1. Perennials — Timothy, red-top, blue-grass, orchard grass, 
etc. 

2. Legumes — Alfalfa, clovers, peas, beans, vetches, etc. 

3. Annual forage plants — Oats, millet, Sudan grass, kaf- 
fir corn, corn, etc. 

Meadows are fields used for grooving forage plants to be 
cut for hay. Pastures are fields used for grazing purposes. 
Permanent pastures are devoted to perennial grasses. 

Hay. The hay crop of the United States is exceeded in 

49 



50 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

value by only one other crop ; namely, corn. Almost all of 
our hay is made from such plants as timothy, clover, alfalfa, 
cow-peas, and millet. The pasture grasses are blue-grass, buf- 
falo grass, red-top, and clovers. Of the thousands of species 
of grasses only about twenty-six are cultivated, and only nine 
are considered as important farm crops. In the order of their 
importance the meadow grasses are : timothy, Kentucky blue- 
grass, Bermuda grass, orchard grass, red-top, Russian brome, 
meadow fescue, tall meadow oat grass, and meadow foxtail. 
The total yield of timothy in this country is greater than that 
of any other hay crop. The hay is palatable, easy to cure 
and keep, and is standard on all the world markets. For 
these reasons timothy continues to be the leading hay crop 
of the country. These facts, however, do not justify the 
encouragement of the production of timothy when we have 
better hay crops available both from the standpoint of ani- 
mal feeding and soil fertility. Combinations of grasses and 
perennial legumes are preferable to any single grass for hay 
making or for pastures. For pastures, those maturing at 
different periods are grown; for meadows, those maturing 
at the same time are necessary. 

Seeding for hay and pastures. In the hay-producing 
regions of the United States a mixture of timothy and red 
clover is the combination used. From four to six pounds of 
seed of each are usually sown to the acre in starting a meadow. 
The first year the hay is a mixture of the two. After the 
second year the stand is nearly pure timothy. The grass 
seed is usually sown in the fall either w^ith or without a nurse 
crop. The clover is usually sown the following spring. Ken- 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 51 

tucky blue-grass is the most highly esteemed pasture grass 
in America. Blue-grass and white clover will soon take pos- 
session of most permanent pastures; therefore there is little 
need of sowing any other seed for pastures. 

Renewing* meadows and pastures. When meadows and 
pastures become very weedy, plowing and re-seeding is the 
only effective way to renew them. A crop of corn and oats 
may be grown in the meantime on the land. Grass of old 
meadows and pastures may be revived by liberal top-dressings 
of barnyard manure in August or September. Persistent cut- 
ting when weeds are in blossom is the only effective way of 
holding them in check and thus keeping the pastures clean. 

Notebook Questions 

1. Name nine grasses and seven legumes used as forage 
crops. Define grass and legume. 

2. Where are the great pasture regions of the world? 

3. How does the hay crop compare in value with other 
farm crops? 

4. How do grasses reproduce? 

5. In what stage of development do the farmers of your 
community cut the timothy hay ? 

6. How would you start a good meadow? A good pas- 
ture? 

7. Ought we to grow more or less timothy hay in the inter- 
ests of live-stock farming and permanent soil fertility ? Why ? 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

1. Identification studies of forage crops. Either in the 
field or in the laboratory, spend the period in examining 



52 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the grasses and legumes usually grown in meadows and pas- 
tures. List the common names; state whether perennial, or 
annual, grass or legume; mctliod of propagation; uses for 
whicJi grown; and oilier most important cliar act eristics. 

2. Visit a meadoA\ or a pasture and write a critical article 
about it, noting such points as — 

(1) Soil condition. 

(2) The plants gro"\Ani. 

(3) The cleanliness of the field as to weeds, brush, etc. 

(4) Improvements needed. 



CHAPTER VII 
CORN 

"The rose may bloom for England, 

The lily for France unfold; 
Ireland may honor the shamrock, 

Scotland the thistle bold; 
But the shield of the great Republic, 

The glory of the West, 
Shall bear a stalk of tasseled corn. 

Of all our wealth the best. 
The arbutus and the golden-rod 

The heart of the North may cheer, 
Arrd the mountain laurel for Maryland 

Its royal clusters may rear. 
And the jasmine and magnolia 

The crest of the South adorn, 
But the wide Republic's emblem 

Is the bounteous golden corn." 

— Edna Procter. 

I. Corn, the Great American Cereal 

Indian com. No one knows the entire history of Indian 
corn, whose special name is given as maize. The name itself 
contains a bit of history. Columbus found a strange plant 
on the Island of Hayti, which the natives called ''mahiz," 
and from this we have the name maize. Botanists have called 
the plant Zea mays, the second or specific name being a modi- 
fication of the old Indian name. 

The early explorers of America found the new com in 

53 



54 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the temperate regions of both Americas. We are particularly 
interested in the history of corn after the discovery of Amer- 
ica because of its importance as a food crop to the early 
colonists. John Fiske, in his history of the discovery of 
America, declares that Indian corn was of ''incalculable 
advantage to the English settlers of New England, who would 
have found it much harder to gain a secure foothold upon 
the soil if they had had to begin by preparing it for wheat 
and rye without the aid of the beautiful and beneficent 
American plant." 

Importance of the corn crop. It is not easy to appreciate 
the importance of corn in the agriculture of the United 
States. IMost people are aware of the fact that corn is our 
principal grain crop. Many do not know how important 
it is in comparison with other grain crops. The following 
table, compiled from the estimates of the Bureau of Sta- 
tistics of the United States Department of Agriculture, will 
furnish a basis for some interesting and instructive com- 
parisons of the relative importance of a number of the crops 
for the year 1910: 

Acreage Production Value, Dec. 1 

Wheat 49,205,000 695,443,000 $ 621,443,000 

Oats 35,288,000 1,126,765,000 384,716,000 

Barley 7,257,000 162,227,000 93,785,000 

Rye 2,028,000 33,039,000 23,840,000 

Rice 722,800 24,510,000 16,624,000 

Buckwheat 826,000 17,239,000 11,321,000 

Potatoes 8,591,000 338,811,000 187,985,000 



Total 98,917,800 2,398,039,000 $1,339,714,000 

Corn 114,002,000 3,125,713,000 1,523,968,000 



CORN 55 

Thus it appears that in acreage, production, and value, 
on December 1 the corn crop of 1910 was greater than all of 
the other cereal grains, including also buckwheat and 
potatoes. 

II. Types of Corn 

Dent and flint. In speaking of the several types and 
varieties of corn, most of us use the terms rather loosely. 
Shoesmith in his ''Study of Com" describes six types: the 
dent, the flint, soft corn, pod corn, sweet corn, and popcorn. 
The types with which farmers of the corn belt have most to 
deal are the dent and the jlint corn. There are many varie- 
ties of both dent and flint types. The difference in appear- 
ance of the several types of corn is due in part to differ- 
ences in structure, and in part to differences in composition. 
In the dent type the soft endosperm appears white and starchy 
at the center and near the crown of the kernel. As the grain 
ripens this soft endosperm shrinks more rapidly than the 
horny endosperm which is located chiefly at the edges of the 
kernel, and the result is the folded or wrinkled appearance 
of the tops of the grains of dent corn. In the flint com the 
soft endosperm in the center of the grain is surrounded by 
the horny endosperm, so that the ripening grain shrinks 
almost uniformly, leaving a smooth, shining surface. 

Varieties. Some standard varieties in the corn belt are : 
Boone County White, Funk's Yellow Dent, Leaming, Minne- 
sota No. 13, Reid's Yellow Dent, Silver Mine, Silver King 
(Wisconsin No. 7), and Johnson County White. Descrip- 
tions of these and other varieties are fully given in Shoe- 



56 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



smith's ''Study of Com," and Bowman and Crossley, 
''Corn." 



THE SEVEN SPECIES OF CORN 



'ir 






SOIvT I SWEET mi POD 



FIG. 7. SEVEN SPECIES OF CORN 



III. Life History of the Corn Plant 

The life cycle. Every living thing has a life history — a 
beginning, a growing, possibly a reproduction, and a death. 
So it is with the corn plant. We may begin at any place in 
a cycle, but in case of the corn we shall begin with the seed. 
The young corn plant is already well started in the seed. It 
has a stem and leaf -end embedded in a cotyledon containing 
food for the young plant, as soon as conditions are right 
for it to continue its growth. These conditions are right 
when the kernel of corn is planted in the soil. Here 
the moisture, heat, and air cause the young plant in the 
cotyledon to begin to grow. This growth consists in putting 
out roots into the soil, pushing up a roll of leaves into the 



CORN 57 

light and air, and using np the food in the kernel. When 
the roots are established in the soil and the leaves are unfolded 
in the air, then the plant begins to feed upon the mineral 
food elements in solution in the soil and the carbon dioxide 
gas of the air, and to combine these food elements into com- 
pounds to be assimilated into the growing roots, stems, leaves, 
flowers, and grain during the summer. At the tip of the corn- 
stalk the tassel containing millions of pollen spores develops, 
and on the side of the stalk the ear develops, each kernel of 
which sends out a long silk to the end of the husks, where 
they appear in a beautiful yellow mass. The pollen must 
fall upon the silk, one spore upon each silk, where it grows 
a long tube reaching doAvn the silk to the corn kernel at the 
cob. The kernel is then fertilized, the young corn plant 
begins to grow in the kernel, and continues to grow until the 
corn is matured. The old corn plant then dies, and all that 
is left alive is the germs or new corn plants embedded in 
each kernel of the ripened ear of corn, ready to germinate 
and continue the life history another year as described above. 

IV, The Corn Plant 

Corn — A grass. All of the cereal grains except buckwheat 
belong to the family of grasses. Corn is a very wonderful 
grass. On the tenth of May, or even two weeks later, the 
corn plant is snugly folded within the kernel. A week or two 
after being planted, the young shoot pushes its tip out of the 
ground and begins to be a real plant — a growing thing with 



58 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

roots in the ground and green leaves spreading out in the 
air. In another hundred days, or even less, the corn may 
be in the shock. "What has happened meanwhile? 

Com roots. First, the developing corn plant had to ex- 
tend its root system deep and wide in the ground. It has 
been shoAvn that in thirty days after planting the roots of 
ccrn plants in adjacent rows meet and interlace. They fill 
the whole surface of the cornfield with a network of roots, 
and in many cases these roots extend several feet downward. 
While the roots are reaching everywhere in the surface soil, 
the stalks are reaching upward and spreading out their broad 
blades to the sun and air. 

Leaves and blossoms. The corn plant does more than 
grow tall and strong ; it throws out brace roots enabling it 
to resist the winds. It produces broad leaves in such a way 
that the wind may bend them and toss them with little dan- 
ger of breaking them; for the leaves are many, broad, and 
long, in order to give the corn plant enough feeding surface 
exposed to the sun and air. The corn plant has a wonderful 
contrivance for producing its fruit, as explained in a former 
paragraph. Silk and tassel are the flowers of the corn plant. 
Every future grain on the ear is at the lower end of a long 
thread of silk, but the grain can not develop until a particle 
of pollen from some tassel falls upon its tip and grows down 
the silk to fertilize the seed. 

During its short growing season the corn plant may grow 
to a height of from ten to fifteen feet, and produce an ear or 
more of corn. A good ear of corn may contain a thousand 
or more kernels. 



CORN 59 

V. Place op Corn in Crop Rotation 

Reasons for rotation. At the basis of all successful farm- 
ing is an intelligent practice of crop rotation. Early in our 
study of corn, therefore, it is well to learn its place in sys- 
tems of crop rotation. 

A few of the more particular reasons for the rotation of 
crops are as follows: 

1. Different crops make different demands upon the soil. 
The grain crops are able to use a large part of the available 
phosphorus and potassium of the soil, but less of its nitro- 
gen ; therefore it is well to follow the grains with crops which 
use nitrogen more extensively and do not draw much upon the 
supply of phosphorus and potassium in the soil. 

2. Root systems differ. The small grains are shallow- 
rooted, and so utilize the fertility from the surface portion 
of the soil. Other crops, such as clover and alfalfa, send 
their roots deep into the soil, and so secure plant-food that 
is out of reach of such crops as wheat and oats. Besides, 
clover, alfalfa, and other leguminous crops when plowed 
under leave the soil richer in nitrogen than they find it. 
This adds greatly to the productiveness of the soil for 
crops of a different character. 

3. The culture of one crop prepares for a succeeding crop 
of a particular kind. It is common in the Avheat sections to 
follow corn with wheat because summer cultivation of corn 
makes it possible to sow the wheat without plowing. Besides, 
the well tilled corn ground enables the wheat to get a good 
start in the fall, and to make use of a considerable part of 



60 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the plant-food made available by weathering during the fall, 
winter, and spring. 

4. Distribution of labor. The farmer who has a well 
planned system of rotation is able to make better and more 
continuous use of his own time and of the labor of his men 
and teams. 

Com in systems of rotation. Rotation of crops will not 
in any sense add to the fertility of the soil, unless in the rota- 
tion a legume crop be returned to the soil, and then nitrogen 
only is added. In connection with the following rotations, 
discussion will be made later as to the place of mineral plant- 
foods in keeping up soil fertility. 

For a system of rotation in live-stock farming, the follow- 
lowing scheme is advised: 

(1) Wheat, (2) corn, (3) oats, (4) clover, and (5) one- 
fifth the land in alfalfa to be turned into the rotation after 
five years, and another one-fifth seeded to alfalfa. Sell all 
grains, seed, and alfalfa hay, and return the rest to the soil, 
using limestone and rock phosphate, as will be explained 
later. 

For a system of rotation in live-stock farming, the follow- 
ing is recommended: 

(1) Com, (2) corn, (3) oats, (4) clover, and (5) alfalfa 
as before. Feed all the crops and return the manure to the 
soil, using limestone and rock phosphate. 

VT.. FERTnjziNG Corn Ground 

Com not a poor land crop. It needs to be repeated again 
and again that corn can not be profitably raised on poor 



CORN 61 

land. It costs as much to plow and otherwise prepare poor 
land foi* a crop of corn as it does to prepare good land; the 
subsequent cultivation is just as expensive, and every step 
in the progress of raising a poor crop from poor land is prac- 
tically as costly as every similar step in producing a good 
crop from good land. Year after year some men raise corn 
on land so poor that with the best cultivation only a small 
crop can be raised, and this always without profit. "Why not 
bring the land up to the condition which will make it per- 
manently profitable? 

Soil upon which corn is to be grown often responds with 
increased yields through crop rotation, the growing of clover, 
even though it be removed, and the use of complete commer- 
cial fertilizers; but these methods do not provide for per- 
manent soil fertility, nor do they always return a profit on 
the investment. 

Permanent soil fertility. There is a difference between 
adding complete commercial fertilizer even though increased 
crop yields result, and the maintenance of permanent soil 
fertility at a lesser annual yield. It is to be correctly inferred 
from the above that the use of complete commercial fertilizers 
does not maintain permanent soil fertility, and no one can 
deny that we should kjeep a permanent if not an increasing 
soil fertility. 

How can this be done is the practical question to raise. 
How can we feed the corn and keep the soil fertile? To 
begin at the beginning, let us take a typical Middle West 
acre. The first requirement is that the soil should be well 
drained. The next is that it shall have plenty of active 



62 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



organic matter. If clover or other legumes will not grow 
well to furnish this organic matter, perhaps the soil is sour 
and needs from two to five tons of ground limestone to the 
acre. The next important requisite is the nitrogen content. 




FIG. 8. POT EXPE-RIMENTS WITH FERTILIZERS 



This is best supplied by the clovers which also furnish the 
organic matter. To get the addition of nitrogen the clover 
must be plowed under. The next requisite in most soils is 
the maintenance of an adequate phosphorus supply. This is 
most economically supplied by the use of from one to three 
tons of fine-ground rock phosphate to the acre. This must 
alwaj^s be applied, however, where manure or other organic 
matter is incorporated in the soil ; for the decaying of the or- 
ganic matter is necessary to render the phosphorus in the 
rock phosphate available for plant-food. This decaying 



CORN 63 

organic matter also renders available the potassium which 

in normal soils is usually in sufficient abundance to supply 

standard yields. This method of supplying plant-food to the 

soil in connection with good systems of crop rotation not 

only increases the annual yields of each crop in the rotation, 

but leaves the soil permanently richer in plant-food after 

the single applications, as stated above, and after four or five 

crops of the rotation have been produced. 

Plan of soil treatment, the corn series. The following is 

the general plan of soil treatment for ten plots in each of a 

series of five at the University of Illinois. The figures show 

the yields of corn in one season: 

Corn yield 

Plot No. Soil treatment bushels 

1 None 60 

2 Legume (catch crops and crop residues) 60 

3 Manure •. 75 

4 Legume, lime 65 

5 Manure, lime 80 

6 Legume, lime, phosphorus 87 

7 Manure, lime, phosphorus 90 

8 Legume, lime, phosphorus, potassium 90 

9 Manure, lime, phosphorus, potassium 93 

*10 Legume (manure, lime, phosphorus, potassium, 

X5) 96 

VII. Plowing for Corn 

Time of plowing*. The time of plowing for corn will 
usually be determined by the convenience of the farmer. It 
is a pretty well established fact that the differences in yield 



*Five times the amounts used in (9) were applied. 



64 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

on land plowed in the fall and similar land plowed early in 
the spring are very slight. Sticky clay land should not be 
plowed when it is so wet as to slip off the monldboard in a 
shiny condition. Land that is likely to wash because of 
steepness or other conditions should be plowed late in the 
winter rather than early, especially if it is protected by a 
cover-crop. 

Purpoifee of plowing. One purpose of plowing is to enable 
the land to store water and retain it. Fall plowing pro- 
vides for t'he storage of water in the soil; spring plowing 
provides for its retention. But to this qualification there 
needs to be added the statement that spring plowing is 
likely to hasten the evaporation of soil moisture unless the 
plow is almost immediately followed by the harrow. "Water 
escapes very rapidly from the surface of a newly plowed 
field. Following the plow with the harrow while the surface 
soil is still fresh reduces the exposed surface and so retards 
evaporation.. It also retards the rise of the water from the 
subsoil, thus retaining it where the plant roots will need it 
during the growing season. Plowing also increases the feed- 
ing area of the corn roots and helps to make plant-food 
available. 

Depth of plowing. The depth of plowing for corn will be 
determined largely by the depth of previous plowings. It 
is not wise, to turn a large amount of raw subsoil up to the 
surface. Usually it is well to bring a small amount of new 
soil under the direct influence of sun and rain, thus prepar- 
ing it to be useful to subsequent crops. It is to be remem- 
bered that it is the mellowed soil that contributes most to 



CORN 65 

the growth of plants. Other influences have much to do 
with determinin-g the proper depth of plowing for corn. If 
the ground is plowed in the fall, it may be safe to plow an 
inch or more deeper than it would be wise to plow the same 
ground in the spring. The frosts and freezes of winter 
will do much to m.ellow and ''tame" the soil that has never 
been exposed to the more active weathering influences. 

If much organic matter is to be plowed under, it should 
be done in the fall in order to give it time to decay before 
the spring crop is planted. 

Preparation of see*d-bed. Broadly speaking, everything 
done to the soil is a part of the work of preparing the bed 
for the seed to be sown or planted. Plowing and fertilizing 
the ground are steps in the preparation of the seed-bed, but 
we must be concerned here with the immediate preparation 
of the soil to receive- the seed. The use of the harrow after 
the land has been plowed for corn is the simplest method of 
preparing for* planting. On land plowed in the fall or early 
winter, it is advisable to go over the ground once or twice 
with the disk or cutaway harrow before using the smooth- 
ing harrow; and in many cases the roller or wooden drag 
may follow the other implements with profit. A modern im- 
plement known as the ''culti-packer" seems to make ideal 
seed-bed preparation, since it both packs and mulches the 
soil. Finally, after the corn has been planted, further prepa- 
ration of the soil for the growing com may be made by going 
over it once or twice wdth the smoothing harrow. A seed- 
bed in perfect condition to give the corn plants the best kind 
of a start is almost equivalent to a guarantee of a good crop. 



66 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

VIII. Testing Seed Corn 

Will the corn grow? The farmer plants corn in the belief 
that it will grow. Why should not every kernel sprout 
and produce a good stalk to bear a good ear? Perhaps it 
would if every condition were made right. The kernel itself 
is the first condition ; it ought to be in perfect growing con- 
dition. The corn judge or the man selecting seed from the 
crib can not make a germinating test ; he 'must be guided 
by appearances. What are some of the evidences that corn 
will probably grow? 

If the ear is firm in the hands, the kernels tight in their 
places, and no evidence of decay seen at the butt, it may 
be supposed that the corn is matured and well developed. 
The kernels should be hard and dry and without dullness of 
color; they should be of a fairly large and regular size, with 
large and healthy germs, and there should be no sign of mold. 
The tips of vigorous kernels are never thin and shrunken. 
They should be free from cracks and blisters, and tip caps 
should completely cover the tips of the shelled kernels. The 
corn should be dry, firm, and bright colored. A damp 
moldy cob indicates weakness in the germ, and it may mean 
that the germs are already dead. 

The germination test. The final proof that the corn will 
grow is the germination test. The man who risks a large 
share of his year's labor in his cornfield ought to be per- 
fectly sure that his seed is good; the actual sprouting of a 
few grains from every ear will make him perfectly sure. 

The test-box. Make a box of any convenient- size. A 



CORN 67 

board ten or twelve inches wide and two feet long will make 
the bottom of a very serviceable tester. Make a tray or 
shallow box by using two-inch-wide boards for the sides and 
ends. Fill this tray with sand, leveling it with a yardstick, 
a lath, or any straight-edged piece of wood or metal. Lay 
it off in squares by driving a row of carpet tacks into each 
side and each end of the tray, placing these tacks an inch 
and a half or two inches apart, and lacing strong twine back 
and forth across the box from end to end and from side to 
side. The twine will thus serve as a fence around each of 
the squares, which will be an inch and a half to two inches 
across, depending on the distance between the tacks, and will 
provide space to test five kernels. 

This is the tester complete, except for a means of making 
and keeping a record of each ear to be tested. Begin at the 
right-hand corner of the box and number the long way of 
the tester from 1 to the number representing the number of 
squares in the long row. If the squares are two inches in 
size and the tester is four feet long, the last number will be 
24. Then begin at the comer numbered 1, and number the 
short way of the tester with the letters of the alphabet. If 
the box is a foot wide and the squares two inches in size, 
there will be six squares in a short row, and they will be 
numbered from A to F. The row of squares numbered 1 
will cross the row marked A at the corner of the tester. 
This corner is marked A and 1; in brief, it is Al. The 
square in the opposite corner is F24 Any other square is 
definitely located by letter and number. Thus provision is 
made for testing 144 ears of corn. If the squares are made 



68 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 




FIG. 



AN IDEAL EAR 



one inch across, there will be 576 in 
a tester a foot wide and four feet 
long, inside measure. 

Made according to these direc- 
tions, the tester provides a simple 
means of keeping a record of every 
ear tested. Cut a piece of card- 
board into squares half an inch 
across. Fasten one of these to the 
butt of each ear of corn by using a 
common pin. The pin will hold 
the bit of cardboard, providing a 
place for the number to correspond 
with the square in which grains 
from each ear are to be planted. 

With the tester in a place where 
the sand can be properly moistened 
with water, and where it can be 
kept moist and also warm enough 
to allow the corn to germinate at a 
summer temperature, begin the 
work by taking an ear to be tested 
in square Al ; mark the tag pinned 
on the butt of the ear (the pin 
thrust deep into the pith) Al; 
then, with a pocket knife care- 
fully lift five kernels from differ- 
ent rows in different parts of the 
ear. 



CORN 69 

Placing" the kernels. The kernels are now ready for plant- 
ing, which may be done by pressing them germ side up into 
the sand of the square set apart for them. Mark the next 
ear in the same way, i\2, and plant five grains in square A2; 
following this method until five grains have been planted 
from the last ear in (it may be) square Fll, or any other 
square. Now you are prepared to wait for the corn to come 
up. The marked ears are laid aside where they can not 
be disturbed by mice, rats, or meddlesome persons ; the tester, 
with every grain of corn pressed just below the surface of 
the sand, is sprinkled with water, and then covered with 
moistened muslin or other cloth to keep the test-box from 
drying so fast. 

Results of test. If any ear of corn shows less than perfect 
germination in every kernel taken, that ear should be dis- 
carded. It is not safe to plant seed from an ear that shows 
any weak or dead kernels. Perhaps the simplest and most 
important lesson to get from this study is that no one should 
plant corn that is not Imown by actual and careful test to 
be in perfect germinating condition. If seed corn has to be 
bought, it should be bought in the ear so that the purchaser 
may know what his corn is and may test it for himself. 

IX. Planting the Corn 

Time to plant. Early planting is generally advised, but 
corn is a warm weather plant. It will not germinate until 
the soil has become warmer than is necessary for the growth 
of peas, oats, and certain other hardy plants. 



70 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Distance in planting*. The distance between rows is 
usually a matter of custom, growing out of local experience. 
Forty-four inches is a common distance. If the corn is 
planted with a check-row planter, it may be planted forty- 
four inches each way. When corn is drilled, the distance 
between rows is sometimes three feet and six inches. When 
planted in hills, and the seed is good, three kernels to the 
hill will produce the desired number of stalks. 

Depth of planting. The depth of planting should depend 
on the season, the kind of soil, and its condition. If the corn 
is planted early while the soil is comparatively cold, shallow 
planting is to be recommended. When the soil has become 
warm and mellow, deeper planting may be safely done. It 
should be remembered that corn kernels will not sprout unless 
they get sufficient moisture, and at the surface of a dry soil 
there may not be enough moisture to cause- prompt 
germination. 

X. Cultivating Corn 

Purposes of tillage. Tillage breaks up the soil, making 
possible the free movement of air and moisture. It mellows 
and pulverizes the soil, thus promoting the processes that 
increase the availability of the plant-food materials; it pro- 
motes the warming of the earth, and destroys Aveeds. 

First cultivation important. This first cultivation of the 
corn may be done with a two-horse, double-shovel cultivator. 
If such an implement is used it should be supplied with 
fenders to keep the young plants from being covered or 



CORN 71 

broken by the earth thrown against them by the rapidly mov- 
ing shovels. 

The importance of this first cultivation can hardly be over- 
emphasized. It should not be done when the ground is too 
wet ; it should not be put off until the weeds begin to smother 
the corn plants. Many a corn crop has been reduced in yield 
from a fourth to a half by neglecting to use the right imple- 
ment in the right way at the right time. 

Every man ought to be so familiar with his own soil and 
its condition that he can judge the right time to cultivate 
by looking at it, by walking over it, and by feeling of it 
with his fingers. If the ground is too wet, there is danger 
that serious harm will be done by the cultivator; if it is al- 
lowed to get too dry, there will be great loss of moisture due 
to evaporation and the growth of weeds. 

Shallov/ cultivation. Much damage is done to corn every 
year b}^ too deep cultivation. B}^ the time corn is a foot 
high, it will not be possible to give it deep cultivation with- 
out breaking off many of the roots. This will give the corn a 
serious set-back. 

With the plowing well done in fall or winter or early 
spring; with thorough preparation of the seed-bed by the 
use of disk or cutaway, and smoothing harrow and roller or 
plank drag; wdth one deep cultivation well and carefully 
done ; after this it is easy to do the work that will ordinarily 
assure a good crop of corn on fairly rich land. The subse- 
quent cultivation should be shallow. In fact, some corn 
growers advocate merely scraping the surface of the ground 
to destroy weeds and provide a soil mulch. 



72 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

The soil mulch. By the use of the right kind of imple- 
ments and a knowledge of the principles of tillage, the farmer 
keeps the soil in proper condition and prevents the growth 
of weeds. If a hard crust is formed on the surface of the 
soil by the dashing rains of summer, the soil water rapidly 
comes to the surface and is evaporated by the sun and wind. 
The farmer wants to have this water escape from the soil 
through the corn plants, giving up on the way the plant-food 
it has absorbed out of the soil. He therefore breaks up the 
crust of earth and saves the moisture for the corn crop. 
The moisture from the deeper soil gathers below the mulch 
about the roots of the corn where it can be utilized. If 
weeds are allowed to grow, they will be sure to get their 
share of this moisture, thus robbing the corn. 

XI. Maturing of Corn 

Com should mature. To be reasonably s;atisfactory for 
general use corn must also get ripe. We want the corn to 
use the entire growing and ripening season; but we do not 
want it to be of a kind that needs two weeks more of grow- 
ing weather than our climate can furnish. We want corn 
that will mature. 

Large ears and maturity. The common disposition of 
farmers to select large ears has had a tendency to produce 
a strain of corn requiring a long season — a season longer 
than can be depended upon year after year. So it often 
happens that, with a late spring or an early fall, or both, 
a large share of the corn does not get ripe. When cut before 



CORN 73 

it matures, it is so full of water that it can not dry out 
before freezing weather. The result is that the frost kills 
or weakens the germs of the unripe corn, making it unfit 
for seed. Another effect of the imperfect ripening is seen 
in the many cribs of moldy corn. Whenever there is a large 
proportion of soft corn, there is great danger that there 
will be heating and subsequent molding in the crib. 

Where to get seed. The fact needs frequent emphasis 
that it is not wise to bring seed corn from a distance. The 
corn plant has a tendency to adapt itself to the length of the 
season; but this adaptation does not come about in a single 
season. The best practice is to plant home-grown seed from 
soil similar to the soil in which it is to be planted. If good 
seed can not be had from near home, the grower will do 
well to send for seed grown where the season is shorter 
rather than longer than his own. 

XII. Selecting Seed Corn in the Field 

Value of good seed. The importance of selecting good 
seed corn and taking good care of it cannot be over-estimated. 
Experiments have shown that well-bred and carefully se- 
lected seed corn, of a type suited to the soil and climate where 
it is to be used, will produce from 10 to 50 per cent more 
corn per acre. Rich soil and good culture are important fac- 
tors in producing a large crop of corn, but good seed will 
add considerably to the yield. 

Field selection. To get the best seed corn it should be 
selected in the field after it has matured, and while the char- 



74 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

acter of the parent stalk can be seen. It is a well known 
law of life that ''Like begets like," and, in the case of corn, 
each kernel selected for seed will tend to produce a stalk and 
ear like the one from which it came. Now there are certain 
desirable characteristics of the stalk of corn which can not 
be seen except by careful field selection. 

There should be a large leaf growth. The stalk should 
be strong and vigorous, medium size, strong at the base with 
good brace roots and tapering gradually to the tassel. It 
should stand up well and bear its ear at a convenient height 
for husking. The shank of the ear should be of medium 
length, allowing the ear to turn down slightly. A short shank 
holds the ear too erect. Ears on long shanks or too high on 
the stalk are more likely to pull down the stalk in a wind 
storm, besides being inconvenient to husk. The ears selected 
should be well developed, with straight rows of uniform sized 
kernels. Ears should be selected and husked before the early 
frost injures them for seed. Expert plant breeders have 
selected seed corn for various characteristics and developed 
new and different strains from the same seed. This shows 
that it is possible to select seed and thus improve the strain 
from the old stock. 

XIII. Judging and Scoring Corn 

Corn judging. The object of corn judging is to determine 
the corn of highest quality, either for feeding or market, 
which is, consequently, most profitable to grow. The study 
of the desirable characteristics of seed corn has led to the 



CORN 75 

formation of a standard scale of points or **corn score-card." 
By the use of the score-card, the judge or student can keep 
in mind the relative merits of the points in a sample of corn, 
and compare the ears he is judging with the ideal standard. 




FIG. 10. WINNER IN MANY CONTESTS 

In selecting corn for seed or for exhibition, probably the 
best method is to place the ears from a bushel of selected 
corn upon a table with the butts of the ears toward you. 
Select the most nearly perfect ear you can find, one which 



76 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

comes the nearest to the ideal type. Then select other ones 
resembling the first one — ten in all. 

The score-card. The score-card is a device to help the 
judge or student to make intelligent comparisons of sample 
ears with the ideal type. The characteristics of the ear are 
listed and the perfect grade for each is given. The student 
must judge how nearly the sample being scored compares 
to the perfect grade under each point. In judging corn, 
ten ears usually constitute an exhibit sample. It is desirable 
that samples be laid out side by side on a table where a 
good light may be had. 

For practical work in corn-scoring the teacher should 
provide score-cards used and recommended by the agricul- 
tural college of the state in which the work is being done. It 
is not advisable to give more attention and study to scoring 
corn than to its production. It is yield we want rather than 
fancy ears, and this characteristic is often inherent in ears 
of indifferent appearance. 

XIV. Storing Seed Corn 

Essentials of careful storing. The proper storing of seed 
corn after selection is perhaps of equal importance to the 
matter of selection. The ears should be taken when mature 
on the stalk and hung or laid in dry, well ventilated places, 
and kept perfectly dry and cool until planting time the next 
season. It must be remembered that the seed is a living 
thing and is injured by freezing. 



CORN 



77 



Value of careful storage. The Ohio Extension Bulletin 
reports as follows: "Samples of seed com were taken from 
over 100 different farms in all parts- of the state, and germina- 
tion tests made of the corn to determine its vitality, careful 
record being kept, as far as possible, of the method of storing 
and caring for seed corn/' 

The following table will give the results as shown by this 
preliminary work: 



Taken from ordinary crib 
Stored in good dry place 
with plenty of air currents, 
but no artificial beat, as on 
shelves, in cribs, above 
wagon sheds, hung by 

wires, strings, etc 62 

Stored in attics, empty rooms 
in houses, furnace rooms, 
etc. Some artificial heat 
furnished but not always a 
free circulation of air 11 





Range of 


Average 






germi- 


germi- 




Number 


nation — 


nation — 


Vigor 


tested 


per cent 


per cent 


of plants 


. 40 


55-100 


85 


Poor 



72-100 



85-100 



90.3 



93.3 



Good 



Good 



It was also shown in these Ohio experiments that seed 
corn from varieties that are well adapted is less difficult to 
care for than that from large, late-maturing strains. 

"A bushel of seed corn will plant seven acres which at 
fifty bushels per acre should yield 350 bushels. It will be 
seen, according to the figures show^n earlier in this discussion, 
one bushel of the corn which had been well cared for would 
produce 5 per cent more stalks than the seed not properly 



78 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



stored. Not taking into consideration the difference in the 
vigor of the plants, this would make a difference of seventeen 
and one-half bushels in favor of the bushel of seed that had 
been carefully handled. ' ' 

Methods of storing seed corn. There are many methods 
of storing seed com, but in all cases the place of storing must 
be dry and well ventilated. It should never be put in boxes, 



m^ wk. Wk:l 







FIG. 11. SEED CORN RACK 

barrels, or sacks. The attic, or an empty room upstairs in the 
house, if it is not too warm and close, is a good place for stor- 
ing while the corn is still moist. The barn and crib are suit- 
able places for storing if there is time enough for the ears to 
become thoroughly dry before freezing weather. If thor- 
oughly dry and surrounded by dry atmosphere, seed corn will 
stand very cold weather. 

No matter where stored, it should be either hung up or 



CORN 



79 



placed on racks made of narrow strips with, spaces between 
them, and in all cases kept out of reach of rats, mice, and 
chickens. 

XV. Some Insects Injurious to Corn 
The com root-louse. Corn attacked by this insect becomes 
dwarfed, the leaves turn red and yellow, and there is general 
lack of vigor. The root-louse is a small insect, bluish-green 
in color, oval in form, with two short slender tubes projecting 
from the back part of the abdomen. The root-lice are nearly 




FIG. 12. CORN ROOT-LOUSE 

always accompanied by ants, and the farmer who sees the 
ants about the roots of his corn is likely to lay the blame 
of his sickly crop to them rather than to the root-lice, the real 
pests. The ants, however, are indirectly responsible for the 
root-louse injury, as they care for the eggs of the louse during 
the winter, and bring the young lice to the roots of the young 
smart-weeds early in the spring. 



80 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



About the first of May the second generation of lice ap- 
pears, and the little brown ants transfer them to the roots 
of the young corn plants. During the summer the lice con- 
tinue breeding with great rapidi-ty, all the while sucking the 
juice from the young roots of the growing corn. About the 
middle of September the last brood of females begin to lay 
eggs for the winter. These females are usually carried by 
the ants to their nests, where the eggs are laid. 

Kotation of crops, proper fertilization of the soil, deep 
fall plowing, or early spring plowing, followed by repeated 





FIG. 13. THE CHINCH BUG 



deep disking to destroy the ants' nests, are some of the suc- 
cessful methods of combating the corn root-louse. 

The chinch bug. The great arch enemy of the corn crop 
is the chinch bug. This insect is about one-tenth of an inch 
long, and does its work of injury by sucking the juice from 
the stalks of the grooving corn, completely destroying whole 
fields. The insect goes into winter quarters as an adult bug, 
and there remains until the warm weather of the next April 
or May. It is hidden away at the roots of various grasses, 
and in accumulations of weeds, leaves, and other rubbish. 



CORN 81 

Many bugs may be destroyed by burning such rubbish and 
grass. The bugs that live through the winter come out in 
the spring and spread over the country on the wing, settling 
in fields of wheat, early oats, or other grasses, and in these 
lay their eggs for the first generation of the year. The young 
hatching from these eggs injure the crop in which they find 
themselves. Later, at wheat harvest time, being only partly 
grown, they move out of infested wheat fields on foot into 
other fields of grain, especially of corn, where, if the season 
favors them, a second generation will be bred to the enor- 
mous injury of the infested crops. 

The successful combating of chinch bugs is a community 
affair. Every farmer who has chinch bugs on his place should 
clean up and bum up all trash which would harbor the bug 
during the winter. In the summer the farmers of the com- 
munity should all co-operate in throwing crude oil lines about 
their wheat fields to catch the bugs as they migrate from 
the wheat to the com. 

The com ear-worm. The corn ear-worm injures the ears 
of corn and is a serious pest, especially to sugar corn. In the 
South this same insect is known as the cotton boll-worm, from 
its habit of boring into the boll of the cotton. 

In our latitude the first broods of the moths appear in 
May and deposit their eggs on com or other food plants. 
The second or third broods lay their eggs in the silks or 
tassels of the corn. The young worms hatch in three or four 
days, and begin feeding upon the silks of the corn. In a 
few days they get into the tips of the young ears. Each 
worm may feed upon several ears, and, when full grown, the 



82 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

worms leave the ear and go into the ground, where they 
make little cells and in these transform to pupae. In about 
two weeks the next brood of moths appear. There are two 
or three broods in a year. 

The pest is very difficult to combat. Since the pupae of 
the last brood hibernate in the ground during the winter, 
many of them may be killed by deep, late fall plowing. The 
time of planting should be taken into consideration; since 
the moths prefer to lay their eggs on the silk, the corn which 
is in silk when the moths emerge from the ground will be 
most seriously injured. Early planted corn is less liable to 
injury from this source. 

XVI. Corn Products 

The stalk. Many new uses have lately arisen for corn, 
in addition to the well known and standard purposes this 
cereal has long served. Corn pith has lately been utilized 
as a packing for battleships. The production of cellulose, 
high explosives, varnishes, etc., are recent uses of pith, and 
in the manufacture the outer shell and leaves of the stalk are 
left as by-products. These are finely ground up and put on 
the market as the ''New Corn Product," which is used as 
a stock food. The crude stalk has such well known uses as 
stock food in fodder, ensilage, etc. A cheap grade of paper 
can be made from the pulp of the corn stalk. Denatured alco- 
hol and various food extracts are being made from com 
stalks. 

The corn kernel. Besides the common uses of the kernel 



CORN 



83 



as food for man and beast, there are about thirty products 
made from it : six kinds of mixing glucose, used by refiners 
of table syrups, brewers, leather manufacturers, jelly mak- 
ers, fruit preservers, and apothecaries ; four kinds of crystal 
glucose, used by confectioners ; two kinds of grape sugar, used 
by brewers and tanners; pearl starch, used by paper and 
cotton-mills ; powdered starch, used by baking-powder manu- 
facturers; florine, used by flour mixers; dextrine, used by 
fine fabric, paper box, mucilage and glue manufacturers; 




FIG. 14. ANALYSIS OP THE COMPOSITION OF CORN 



corn-oil, used by table oil mixers, lubricating oil mixers, 
manufacturers of fibre, shade cloth, paint, and similar indus- 
tries where vegetable oils are employed; corn-oil cakes, used 
for cattle feeding purposes; rubber substitute, used in the 
place of crude rubber; corn germs, from which oil and cake 
are made ; British gum, a starch which makes a very adhesive 
medium; distilled spirits, used in the manufacture of smoke- 



84 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

less X)Owder ; alcohol for commercial purposes ; corn down, the 
brown outer coating next the cob, used in the manufacture 
of mattresses. 

The cob. Even the cob, besides the emergency use as 
corks, is utilized in the manufacture of pipes, and as a fuel 
in the great corn belt. The ashes of cobs are easily con- 
vertible into a commercial potash. 



Notebook Questions 

1. "Why is corn sometimes called Indian corn or maize? 

2. How does corn rank in acreage, production, and value 
with other farm crops of the United States? 

3. The corn crop for the last five years in the United 
States has been over 2.500,000,000 bushels a year. How much 
is that for each person in the United States? 

4. How much corn was grown in the state last year? 
"What w^as the average yield per acre? (See the Year Book 
of the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. The 
school may obtain a copy through the congressman of the 
district.) 

5. What are the parts of a kernel of corn? 

6. What are the conditions for the germination of seed 
corn? 

7. Where does the corn plant bear its blossoms? 

8. A plot of ground at the University of Illinois has been 
in corn for thirty-five years. The yield is now about twenty- 
five bushels per acre. What does this show? 

9. What do the farmers in your locality do to fertilize 
their corn ground? 

10. In a system of crop rotation, including corn, oats, 
wheat, and clover, a farmer desiring to establish permanent 



CORN 85 

soil improvement applies two tons of ground limestone per 
acre to his clover field in the fall, and a ton of fine ground 
rock phosphate in the spring, before turning under the clover 
for corn. The limestone cost $1.50 per ton and the rock 
phosphate $7.50 per ton. His corn yield, as shown by check 
plots, was five bushels more per acre the first season, and 
twenty-five bushels more the fifth season; the oats increased 
twenty-five bushels, the wheat fourteen bushels, and the clover 
one ton per acre. Estimating the expense of applying the 
limestone and rock phosphate at 50 cents per ton, what did 
he gain on the investment at the prevailing prices of grain 
and hay? 

11. A farmer turned under a heavy clover crop in the 
spring of 1913 and planted the field to com. The corn ger- 
minated and grew well for a few weeks, then dried up and 
died. Explain. 

12. What is the purpose of the germinating test? 

13. If an ear of corn has 800 kernels and they should 
all be planted and all grow, producing ears that weighed 
12 ounces each, how much would that ear of corn be worth, 
estimating its value from the yield at 50 cents a bushel? 

14. What is the meaning of the term ''tillage"? Name 
six values of tillage. 

15. What should be done at the first cultivation of corn? 
Why is this cultivation so important? 

16. Speak of the value of shallow cultivation as com- 
pared to deep cultivation of corn. 

17. What harm results from weeds in the com? 

18. Why is it best to use home-grown seed? 

19. Na«me some characteristics of the parent plant that 
are carried by the seed to the next generation. 

20. Why is it best to select seed corn in the field? When 
should this be done? 

21. How is seed corn stored and cared for at your home? 



86 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

22. Make a list of uses to which you have seen corn 
applied. 

23. Why is corn so well adapted to agricultural opera- 
tions and commercial usage? 

Practical Exercises and Home Project 

1. Observatian study of a corn plant. Bring half a dozen 
stalks of corn into the schoolroom or, better still, go with the 
class to a field of standing corn. Observe the stalks having 
roots, leaves, ears, and all complete. Make notes of your 
observations on each stalk, noting the following points: 

1. Leafiness of stalk, number of leaves. 

2. Size and vigor of stalk — measure exact height. 

3. Height of ear from ground. 

(a) Length of ear, angle with stalk, and length of 
ear shank. 

(b) Husks, abundant or scarce, close or loose fitting. 

(c) Ear, good or. poor type. 

4. Are brace roots present? 

5. If hills of corn are 3 feet 6 inches each way, how 
many hills to the acre? 

6. If each hill has three corn stalks, and each stalk bears 
an ear weighing 12 ounces, how many bushels per 
acre would be the yield? 

2. Field selection of seed corn. Bring several stalks of 
corn to the schoolroom, or go with the class to a field. Assign 
to each pupil a stalk of corn and have him write a criticism 
of the stalk as to whether it is suitable from which to select 
seed corn or not. Note the following points : 

1. Leafiness of stalk. 

2. Size and vigor of stalk. 

3. Root support. 

4. Height of ear. 



CORN 87 

5. Length of shank, 

6. Angle of ear to stalk. 

7. General type of ear. 

3. Study of an ear of corn. (From Nolan's ''One Hun- 
dred Lessons in Agriculture.") With an ear of corn on the 
desk before each pupil, describe it, using the following out- 
line: 

1. Name of variety. 

2. Color of grain and cob. 

3. Surface, dent or flint. 

4. Rows of kernels ; number, straightness, spacing, and 
completeness. 

5. Kernels, firm or loose. 

6. Shape of the ear. 

7. Butt; even, shallow or deep. 

8. Tip ; exposed or covered, nature of kernel at tip. 

9. Kernel shape. 

10. Length and circumference of ear. 

4. A grain of corn. Soak a few grains of corn in hot 
water for twenty minutes. With a sharp knife remove the 
tip cap J a small cap covering the end of the kernel. Begin 
where the tip cap has been broken, and remove the hull in 
strips. The part immediately under the hull, covering almost 
all of the kernel, is called the liorny gluten. Carefully shave 
it off with a sharp knife, then carefully remove the germ. 
Notice the size, position, and parts of the germ. The remain- 
der of the kernel is starch, of which there are two kinds, the 
liorny starch and the wMte starcli. The horny starch lies on 
the back and sides of the kernel. The white starch occupies 
the crown end above the germ. Make an enlarged drawing 
of the kernel, showing and naming these parts. 

5. Preliminary study to com scoring. Each student 
should have an ear of corn, and tabulate in his notebook his 
observations on the ear, as follows: 



88 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Ideal Good Fair Poor 

Shape of ear 

Length of ear 

Circumference of ear 

Tip of ear 

Butt of ear 

Kernel uniformity 

Kernel shape 

Color in grain and cob 

Space between kernels at cob 

Space between rows 

Vitality or seed condition 

Trueness to type 

Proportion of shelled corn to cob 

Indicate with cross (X) opposite each point the column in which 
you would place the point. 




FIG. 15. STRUCTURE OF A KERNEL OF CORN 



6. Scoring practice. Provide each pupil with ten acres 
of corn and let him practice scoring, using the score-card of 



CORN 89 

your state. Each pupil should score a half dozen or more 
ten-ear samples before this exercise is concluded. 

8. Rack for holding' seed cora. A simple, inexpensive, but 
very good method of caring for seed corn is described below : 

Cut a piece of binding twine twelve feet long ; tie the ends 
together, thus forming a loop. Place one end of the loop over 
the right and the other over the left hand, holding the hands 
about two feet apart and at such height that the middle of 
the strands just touches the floor. Place an ear of corn in the 
swing thus made, with the strands four or five inches apart 
under the ear. 

When the first ear is in place, bring the left hand, with its 
strand, through the strings held in the right hand and on 
under to the elbow of the right arm, thus crossing the strings 
over the first ear. Then place the second ear in the crossed 
strings over the first ear ; withdraw the left hand ; the strings 
will then be crossed again ready for the third ear. Repeat 
this operation until the end of the string is reached; then 
loop the short end over the long one, leaving a loop by which 
to hang the string of corn. Let the pupils prepare a few 
strings of corn to hang in the schoolroom for Corn Day. 

Another rack can be made of strips of lath as follows: 

Get a bundle of plastering lath, and two boards about 4 
feet long and 5 inches wide. Nail the lath strips opposite 
each other on the board, about 3 inches apart, so that when 
all are nailed on, the whole affair will stand supported by 
the boards as end pieces. The corn is then laid across from 
one lath to the other, thus securing free circulation of air 
about the ears, and allowing them to be easily handled. 

9. Testing seed com. Follow directions for testing seed 
corn given in the chapter, and practice testing at least a 
bushel of com. At the proper season test the seed of the 
farmers of the community. 

10. Shrinkage in corn. Procure ten ears of corn from 



90 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the field. Husk and weigh them. Record the weight and 
place them in a dry, safe place. Weight also ten ears of 
corn from last year's crop. Keep these also. Weigh both 
ten-ear samples at intervals of two weeks. Is there a change 
in the weights? Determine the loss of weight and the per- 
centage of loss. This is the shrinkage 



CHAPTER VIII 

SOILS 

"Population must increase rapidly, more rapidly than in former 
times, and ere long the most valuable of all arts will be the art of 
deriving a comfortable subsistence from the smallest area of soil." 

— Abraham Lincoln 

"It is not the land itself that constitutes the farmer's wealth, but 
it is in the constituents of the soil which serve for the nutrition 
of plants that this wealth directly consists." 

— Liebig 

Soil Physics 

The soil a great natural resource. The few feet of soil 
covering the surface of the earth form the most important 
natural resource we have. The inscription carved over the 
entrance to the Agricultural Building of the University of 
Illinois — ' ' The wealth of Illinois is in her soil, and her strength 
lies in its intelligent development" — is true for all the states 
of the Union. It is well, therefore, that we study the origin, 
nature, composition, and function of this valuable resource, to 
the end that it may be wisely used and permanently conserved 
for all the future generations. The careless observer is likely 
to think of the soil as merely dirt, and the unskilled farmer 
who dislikes his occupation often thinks of the soil only as 
a prison floor to which, perhaps, he is bound by chains of 

91 



92 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

debt and from which he must eke out a miserable existence. 
We should know at the outset that the soil is full of life and 
science, and that without it we could not be living in this 
world today. Most of our food, clothing, and shelter comes 
directly or indirectly from the soil. 

Formation of the soil. We are so familiar with the soil 
as we see it that most of us do not stop to think that it was 
ever different. But it has really taken a long time for nature 
to form what we know as the soil, and in so doing she has 
employed wonderful agencies about which we shall write. If 
we were to examine a sample of soil with a strong magnify- 
ing glass, we would find that it is made up largely of fine 
particles of rock. Mixed with these particles in varying 
quantities are dark materials which are called organic mat- 
ter, or sometimes humus. A closer examination will show 
that the organic matter is simply the remains of plants and 
animals which have formerly groAvn on the land, and which 
have partially decayed or rotted in the soil. We find, then, 
that the soil is composed of small particles of rocks mixed 
with the remains of former plants and animals, and that by 
far the larger part consists of these rock particles. This 
suggests the truth that the soil has been formed from the 
solid rocks, such as are found beneath it. Geologists tell us 
that at one time all the surface of the earth was solid rock; 
at that time there was nothing like what we now know as 
soil. These rocks contained all the elements necessary to 
make soil and furnish food for plants, with the exception 
of the elements, nitrogen, oxygen and carbon, which come 
from the air. Just as it is necessary for the miller to grind 



SOILS 93 

the wheat to make it into food for man, so it became neces- 
sary for nature's forces to grind the rocks in order to pre- 
pare the food in them for plants. In other words, the first 
process in soil formation is the pulverization of rocks. 

Several methods have been used to bring about the break- 
ing up of the rocks. Among these is change of tempera- 
ture, or heat and cold. The expansion and contraction of 
the rock particles due to heat and cold and the water con- 
tent result in the breaking up of these rocks into small 
pieces. Another factor is the action of running water. 
Water running over stones gradually wears off the surface. 
Rapidly moving water carries pieces of stone along with it, 
and these rubbing together and over the surface of the 
stream bed help to break up the stones and make soil. 
There are also chemical influences of air and water in aiding 
these physical forces. Another agency which helps to 
grind rocks is moving ice in the form of glaciers. There 
is an accepted theory that at one time all the northern part 
of our country v/as covered with a thick sheet of ice. This 
immense glacier pushed its way down from Canada, carrying 
with it large quantities of rock, grinding them against each 
other until they were reduced to fine soil material. When the 
ice melted later, the rock particles were distributed and 
became the great glacier deposits upon which the soil was 
formed. 

Soil produced by the mere grinding of rocks alone is not 
sufficient for crop production, however. The plant-food in 
this soil must be made available, that is soluble for plant 
roots to absorb. Water is important in bringing about this 



94 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

change. Water which falls on the soil conducts carbonic 
acid gas from the air, and this helps dissolve quantities 
of the rock minerals. The oxygen of the air also helps 
to make plant-food available in the soil. Mineral mat- 
ter alone, as we shall learn later, can not support 
plant life. A soil to be fertile must contain nitrogen. All 
the nitrogen in the soil came originally from the atmosphere. 
The air is four-fifths nitrogen, but it is in a form which 
most plants can not use. Before it can serve as a plant-food 
in the soil, it must be combined with oxygen and certain min- 
eral elements in the soil in the form of a nitrate. A little 
of this is formed during electrical storms and is carried into 
the soil by the rain. 

The growth of vegetation is a factor in soil formation. The 
vegetation began with the smallest forms, such as lichens and 
mosses. These die and become a part of the soil. The soil 
is soon able to produce larger plants and to add the residue 
of these plant growths to the soil in its formation. The plants 
upon decaying give rise to the organic matter, and this in- 
creases the fertility of the land, by being a source of plant- 
food and soil aeration, and by increasing the water-holding 
power. During the decomposition of the plants, acid sub- 
stances are formed which act upon the rocks in such a way 
as to make more plant-food available. One of the products 
of this decay is carbonic acid gas. This gas is dissolved by 
the water and is an important factor in disintegrating the 
rocks. The roots of plants often penetrate the soil to great 
depths and exert tremendous force in breaking apart rocks 
and stones, if they once obtain a foothold in the crevices; 



SOILS 95 

and after they decay they leave little channels in the soil 
which serve to carry down water laden with carbonic acid, 
as well as to introduce air that is a factor in bringing about 
chemical changes in the soil and in furthering work in soil 
formation. 

We shall learn later that in the process of soil formation 
certain leguminous plants, such as clovers, vetches-, etc., are 
introduced into the soil, and that upon the roots of these 
plants are nitrogen-gathering bacteria, enabling the plant 
to derive part of its food from the nitrogen of the atmosphere. 
The return of these plants to the soil through their decay adds 
the element of nitrogen in the further formation of soil. The 
soil is not only alive with bacteria, but myriads of forms of 
animal life live and burrow in the soil, and aid in soil forma- 
tion. 

The various agencies concerned in the formation of the 
soil do not act separately, nor necessarily in any particular 
order. As a matter of fact, all the processes take place simul- 
taneously. Neither is all the soil formed directly from the 
original rock. The soil is almost constantly moving, for some 
of the agencies which form soil also carry it away. It is 
always moving from higher to lower levels. Consequently it 
is thinnest at the top of the hill and deepest in the valley. 
Nature undisturbed has many w^ays of adding to the supply 
of available plant-food in the soil. The various forces dis- 
cussed have all tended to change the food into forms that can 
be assimilated by the plants. Man has reversed the process, 
and while adding little to the soil has removed much from 
it. A study of the formation of the soil suggests two things 



96 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

that the fanner can do to prevent the wearing out of the 
soil: first, he can so treat the soil as to assist and hasten 
nature in the process of making plant-food; second, he can 
return to the soil an amount of plant-food equivalent to that 
removed by the crop. 

Classification according to texture and structure. When 
the soil is formed by so many varied agencies as are enu- 
merated above, it is clear that it will vary in fineness of 
texture according to the degree to which the rock material 
has been reduced. Some particles are so small that twenty- 
five thousand of them can be placed in a linear inch. It is 
impossible for the unaided eye to distinguish such small 
objects. From this extremely small size the particles range 
in size to small stones. Some soils are composed almost 
entirely of the smallest particles, while others are made up 
of coarser material. The size of the unit particle determines 
soil texture; the arrangement of these units determines soil 
structure. The fineness and arrangement of the rock parti- 
cles, together with the kind of rock from which the soil was 
derived, influence greatly the producing power of the soils. 

Soils may be classified, based upon size of the particles, 
into stony soil, gravelly soil, sand, silt, clay, and loams. The 
various grades of soil particles and amounts present, together 
with the amount of organic matter, give rise to the names 
of the common soil types; as, black clay loam, brown silt 
loam, gray silt loam, yellow silt loam, peat, peaty loam, 
sandy loam, etc. Reduction in size of particles in- 
creases the internal area or total area of all particles, 
thereby increasing the feeding area for the root hairs and 



SOILS 97 

the power of the soil to hold and move moisture. The size 
and arrangement of the soil particles are of great importance 
in farming operations. Clay holds so much moisture because 
of its fine texture, and gives it up so slowly that farmers 
call such soils cold and heavy. A good soil should be a bal- 
anced mixture of these soil materials. 

Soil water. We cannot think of soil without noting its 
close connection to the water it contains, or should contain. 
The function of water in the soil is to supply plant-food, 
to dissolve mineral, plant-food elements, and to carry them 
in solution by capillary attraction to the roots of the plants. 
There are three forms of water in the soil: first, the free or 
gravitational water ; second, the capillary water ; third, hygro- 
scopic water. The gravitational water is the excessive water 
which we seek to remove by drainage. It seeks its level at 
the w^ater table of the ground. The capillary water is the 
water adhering to soil particles and drawn by capillary attrac- 
tion to the drier areas. It is the most important form of 
w^ater for the use of the plant. Hj^groscopic water is the 
water in the form of a very thin film about each particle of 
soil. This water can not be removed except at very high 
temperature, and it has little value, perhaps, in plant growth. 

The presence of water in the soil is one of the controlling 
factors in crop production. The farmer may have some 
control over the water supply of the soil: he may increase 
the water content by incorporating in his soil more organic 
matter, thus decreasing loss by percolation; he may provide 
the soil mulch, preventing evaporation of the water from the 
soil; he may deepen the soil by cultivation, thus increasing 



98 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the water-holding capacity by preventing a larger amount 
from running off. The farmer may decrease the soil water 
by drainage, but at the same time increase the available 
w^ater for his crop. The best control of soil water is seen 
in systems of irrigation and dry farming. 

Soil air. A considerable amount of air is found in the 
interstices of all good, live soil. This air functions in sup- 
plying to the soil the elements of oxygen, nitrogen, and car- 
bonic acid gas. It is not definitely known what the whole 
work of oxygen in the soil is, but we know that the roots of 
most economic plants must have oxygen about them or, 
like animals, they will die for want of this element. The 
bacteria of the soil, necessary in decomposing organic mat- 
ter and in extracting nitrogen from the air for the legumes, 
must have an oxj^gen supply or else their processes do not 
continue. Carbonic acid gas functions in disintegrating the 
mineral elements for plant-food. The farmer may control 
to a certain extent the air of the soil. The incorporation of 
organic matter, the proper tillage, drainage, etc., open up 
the soil, making avenues for the movements of air which 
function as described above. 

Soil temperature. It is a well known fact that the tem- 
perature of the soil must be congenial to the growth of plants 
adapted to that soil. The soil must have sufficient heat for 
the germination of the seed, for the growth of the roots, and 
for the activities of the soil bacteria. The temperature of 
the soil is affected by its color, slope, water content, evapora- 
tion, and organic matter. The way in which these things 
affect the soil temperature is evident. Dark colored soils are 



SOILS 99 

warmer than the light colored ones. Southern and western 
slopes are warmer than northern and eastern. Water logged 
soil is colder than a dry soil. Soil well aerated by tillage, 
drainage, and organic content is warmer than the close, dead 
soil. 

Active organic matter in the soil. By active organic mat- 
ter we mean plant and animal substances in process of active 
decay. This is sometimes called humus, but we should under- 
stand humus to mean that organic matter which is in various 
stages of active decay from the more active stages to the car- 
bonized inactive organic matter, such as coal. The decom- 
position of organic matter is carried on by various bacteria 
living and reproducing under favorable conditions upon the 
organic matter. Such organic matter, having larger surface 
than inorganic matter, increases the water content of the 
soil, provides aeration and makes the soil friable. The 
farmer may control the organic content of the soil, and this 
control is often the beginning of soil improvement and sys- 
tems of permanent agriculture. He may incorporate in the 
soil the crop residues, all the animal manures available, and 
return to the soil most of the legume crops. These practices 
are all part of a good system of crop rotation, 

Tillage of the soil. By tillage of the soil we mean all 
the handling of the soil usually included in the use of imple- 
ments for plowing and preparation for plant growth. Til- 
lage of the soil pulverizes it, and puts it into better physical 
condition for providing itself with the proper moisture. Soil 
that is too wet works at a disadvantage, as every farmer 
knows, causing an injury requiring a long time to correct 



100 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Tillage opens up the soil to air and increases the water hold- 
ing capacity. With the aeration of the soil, soil organisms 
mentioned above flourish and successfully reproduce, and 
these factors in turn render more plant-food available, thus 
increasing the growth of the plant. It is a well known fact 
that shallow cultivation prevents the escape of water by 
evaporation and is, therefore, a successful method of water 
conservation. Someone has said that weeds are a blessing 
to the farmer because in the cultivation of the soil to rid the 
land of weeds he brings about the results of cultivation men- 
tioned above. Incidentally it may be noted that cultivation 
of the soil is a method of combatting many insect pests. This 
is especially true in the case of fall plowing, when the winter 
stages of certain insects may thus be exposed to the freezing 
weather. 

With the development of the science of physics and of 
farm machinery, many new and efficient tools of cultivation 
are coming to the farm to bring improvement in the culti- 
vation of the soil. 

Soil organisms. In the discussion of physical conditions 
of the soil we must not lose sight of the more recent dis- 
coveries of the effects of soil organisms such as bacteria, 
insects, worms, and even rodents upon soil conditions. It 
has already been stated that the bacteria working in the 
decaying organic matter of the soil make possible that con- 
dition Avhich we see in a rich, organic, loamy soil. Since these 
soil organisms are so essential both to soil physics and soil 
fertility, as we shall see later, it is necessary that the condi- 
tions affecting their growth be kept favorable — such condi- 



SOILS 



101 



tions as air, temperature, organic material, and freedom from 
acidity. These are problems in soil physics. 

Effects af lime in the soil. We usually think of lime as 
relating to soil fertility, but we know that the application 
of lime to the soil has certain effects upon its physical condi- 
tion. The application of lime to a sandy soil has a te-ndency 
to cement together the particles and give the soil more body, 




FIG. 16. A LIME SPREADER. 

improving its structure and tillage. The application of lime 
to stiff clay soils or clay loams tends to flocculate the finer 
particles and open up the soil, giving it more air, making it 
more friable, and more easily drained. 

Soil Fertility 



The idea to be kept constantly before the student of agri- 
culture and the farmer is the wise use of the natural resources 



102 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

resulting in their conservation. A study of soil fertility, 
therefore, must keep constantly before us the theme of con- 
servation — ^wisely using and making permanent the fertility 
of the soil for all future use. To restore a depleted soil to 
high productive power in economic systems of agriculture 
requires education and skill. 

Elements of plant-food. The farmer should be as familiar 
with the names of the ten essential elements of plant-food as 
he is v/ith the names of his ten nearest neighbors. These 
plant-food elements are just as necessary for the plant as 
food is for animals. Agricultural plants consist of ten ele- 
ments. Not a kernel of corn, grain of wheat, leaf of clover, 
or spear of grass could be produced if the plant failed to 
secure any one of these ten elements. Some of them are 
supplied in abundance by natural processes; others are not 
so provided, and the farmer must supply them or his land 
becomes unproductive. 

The ten elements that plants live on are carbon, hydrogen, 
oxygen, phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, sulphur, calcium, 
iron, and magnesium. Two elements, carbon and oxygen, are 
contained in the air in the form of a gas called carbon diox- 
ide, and this compound is taken into the plant through the 
thousands of breathing pores upon the leaves. Hydrogen is 
one of the elements of which water is composed. Water is 
taken into the plant through the roots, carried through the 
stem to the leaves, and there, under the influence of chloro- 
phyll, sunlight, and life-principle, the carbon, oxygen, and 
hydrogen are made to unite into important plant compounds, 
such as the sugars, later transformed into s-tarch and fiber. 



SOILS 103 

Oxygen exists in the air as a free element, is taken in by 
respiration through the leaves of the plant, and functions in 
a similar way as it does in the animal body. 

Carbon, oxygen and hydrogen constitute the largest part 
of the agricultural plant, but plant growth is not possible 
without seven other elements supplied by the soil. Iron is 
one of the essential elements of plant-foods, but the amount 
required is small and the amount contained in the soil is 
large. Sulphur is found in plants in small amounts and is 
essential to plant growth. The supply of sulphur in normal 
soils is not large, but with the decay of organic matter a 
great deal of sulphur passes into the air and is brought back 
to the soil, dissolved in rain. Under normal conditions the 
sulphur supply is ample to meet the needs of the farm crops. 

There are five other essential elements of plant-food that 
require special consideration in connection with permanent 
soil fertility. They are nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, mag- 
nesium, and potassium. In studying these five elements we 
must note the following points: the soiPs supply, the crop 
requirements, the loss by leaching, the methods of liberation, 
and the means of renewal. The neglect of one or more of 
these points Avill reduce the fertility of cultivated soils and 
bring about conditions that are well known in the impov- 
erished older farm lands of the United States. Intelligent 
attention to these factors will restore and make productive 
such lands. 

Fertility in normal soils. Of the important mineral ele- 
ments potassium is the most abundant in common soils. Doc- 
tor Cyril G. Hopkins of Illinois states that in an average of 



104 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

ten residual soils from ten different geological formations in 
the eastern part of the United States, two million pounds of 
surface soil were found to contain: 

Potassium 37,860 pounds 

Magnesium 14,080 " 

Calcium 1,810 

Phosphorus 1,100 

He further states that in the common type of the great soil 
area of Illinois' corn belt, two million pounds of the sur- 
face soil contain as an average : 

Potassium 36,250 pounds 

Magnesium 8,790 

Calcium 11,450 

Phosphorus 1,190 " 

In the older clay silt loam soil of southern Illinois, he states 
the content for the same number of pounds to be: 

Potassium 24,940 pounds 

Magnesium 4,680 

Calcium 3,420 

Phosphorus 840 " 

It will be seen by these figures that these soils are rich in 
potassium and poor in phosphorus. These figures bear some 
relation to the composition of the earth's crust, which con- 
tains in two million pounds, 49,200 pounds of potassium and 
2,200 pounds of phosphorus. 

Plant-food required for crop growth. Quotations from 
Bulletin No. 123 of the Illinois Experiment Station give the 
following interesting data: 



SOILS 105 

Produce 

Kind and amount Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium 

Corn, grain (100 bu.) 100 17 19 

Corn, stover (3 T.) 48 6 52 

Oats, grain (100 bu.) 66 11 16 

Oats, straw (21/2 T.) 31 5 52 

Wheat, grain (50 bu.) 71 12 13 

Wheat, straw (21/2 T.) 25 4 45 

Timothy hay (3 T.) 72 9 71 

Clover, seed (4 bu.) 7 2 3 

Clover, hay (4 T.) 160 20 120 

Alfalfa (8 T.) 400 36 192 

Apples (600 lbs.) 47 5 57 

Potatoes (300 bu.) 63 13 90 

Fat cattle (1,000 lbs.) 25 7 1 

Fat hogs (1,000 lbs.) 18 3 1 

Milk (10,000 lbs.) 57 7 12 

Butter (500 lbs.) 1 .2 .1 

The value of the elements may be computed on the basis 
of a common market price for available plant-food, as fol- 
lows : 

Nitrogen 15 cents per lb. 

Phosphorus 12 " " " 

Potassium 6 " " " 

The plant-food required for one acre of wheat yielding 50 
bushels, one acre each of com and oats yielding 100 bushels, 
and one acre of clover yielding 4 tons, is the total crop 
need of: 

Potassium 320 pounds 

Magnesium 68 " 

Calcium 168 

Phosphorus 77 " 

From these figures one may estimate the cost of fertilizers 
in maximum crop production. 



106 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Liberation of soil fertility. After determining the total 
amount of plant-food in a plot of soil, the next important 
question is not how mnch is available, but how much can be 
made available during the course of the crop season year after 
year. We must liberate plant-food by practical methods. 
We must convert it from insoluble compounds into soluble 
and usable forms, for the plant-food must be made soluble 
before the plant can take it from the soil. It has already 
been stated in previous paragraphs that decaying organic 
matter is the important factor in making plant-food avail- 
able, and attention has been called to the fact that the decom- 
position of this organic matter is hastened by drainage and 
tillage, which permit the air to enter the soil and assist in 
the decomposition of the organic material. The application 
of limestone, as will be explained later, also assists in the 
liberation of certain plant-foods. 

Loss of plant-food. These plant-food elements are lost 
by cropping, erosion, and leaching. In a four-j^ear crop 
rotation under ordinary practices, the amount per acre of 
calcium lost by leaching is 300 pounds; of magnesium, 30 
pounds; of phosphorus, 2 pounds; of potassium, 10. It is 
a well known fact that great quantities of our richest soil 
are washed from the hillsides and valleys into the streams 
and carried to the sea. Some of the richest of the com belt 
soils have found their way to help build the delta at the 
mouth of the Mississippi. The table above gives some idea of 
the extent to which the plant-food of the soil is lost through 
removal of crops that are grown upon the soil. 

Sources of elements likely to become deficient. It was 



SOILS 107 

noted above that nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and prob- 
ably calcium and magnesium, were the elements likely to 
become deficient. This being true, we must look to sources 
from Avhich these elements may be economically obtained, 
and maintain if possible and even increase the fertility and 
productive capacity of the soils. Some sources from which 
these elements may be obtained are crop residues, barnyard 
manures, legumes, commercial fertilizers, and mineral sup- 
plies. 

Crop residue. All the material which makes up the roots, 
stubble, leaves, and other residue left after removing the 
crop, contains plant-food elements derived from the soil and 
air. To remove this residue or to burn it would be an evident 
loss of soil fertility. Should these residues be returned, their 
decomposition would not only add the elements to the soil 
in large measure, but the organic material which they would 
supply would give greater water-holding capacity to the soil, 
raise its temperature, foster the growth of bacteria, and pro- 
mote better physical condition. 

Legumes. Every school boy knows that upon the roots 
of the legumes such as red clover, sweet clover, alfalfa, soy 
beans, cow-peas, vetch, etc., are growing nodules which are 
colonies of bacteria living upon the roots of these plants, 
drawing the free nitrogen from the air and making it over 
into an available form for the plant. This nitrogen is 
assimilated into the leaf, stem, root, and seed of the plant. 
About as much nitrogen is contained in the part of clover 
above ground as is taken from the air. It will be seen, then, 
that if these legume plants be plowed under and incorporated 



108 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

in the soil, large amounts of nitrogen will be supplied to the 
soil. In addition to this value, the mass of material making 
up the legume crop will add to the organic matter of the soil 
and give all the values ascribed above. 

Org-anic matter and its relation to soil fertility. When 
barnyard manures, crop residues, legume crops, or any other 
organic matter are incorporated in the soil and the physical 
conditions are right, the decay of this organic matter lib- 
erates directly plant-food elements, helps to dissolve certain 
mineral elements such as phosphorus and potassium, and 
makes them available a^ plant-food. The organic content 
of the soil provides a more suitable home for the growth of 
bacteria, which are important factors in soil fertility. 

It must be noted in this connection that barnyard manure, 
in addition to furnishing excellent organic matter, is also a 
source of plant-food. Ordinary barnyard manure contains 
per ton 10 pounds of nitrogen, 2 of phosphorus, 8 of potas- 
sium, with a value of $2.22 per ton for the plant-food ele- 
ments. We may see from these figures that it would take a 
very great amount of barnyard manure to maintain per- 
manently the fertility of the soil under maximum crop 
production, as is also shown in the paragraph above on 
plant-food required for crop growth. 

Nitrogen. Nitrogen is one of the most abundant elements 
in nature, yet it is the most costly element to the farmer as 
a plant-food. Some important facts regarding nitrogen em- 
phasize its value to the farmer: 

a. All growing plants require nitrogen. 



SOILS 109 

b. Plants can get nitrogen only as a compound from the 
soil. 

c. Nitrogen is a free gas in the air. 

d. There are about seventy million pounds of nitrogen 
over each acre. 

e. Nitrogen in the combined form is unstable and easily 
lost. 

f. The nitrogen supply in most soils is low. 

g. Nitrogen compounds in the soil are mainly in organic 
matter and extend only a few inches below the surface. 

h. Nitrogen is the one element of plant-food that is most 
easil}^ lost and wasted, and is often the limiting element in 
maximum crop production. 

i. The growing crops draw heavily upon the nitrogen sup- 
ply in the soil. 

j. If it were possible to exhaust the supply in the average 
soil, it would be entirely used up by thirty-two 100-bushel 
crops of corn. 

k. Considerable nitrogen is lost by percolation of drain- 
age water. 

1. Many nitrogen compounds are easily lost by leaching. 

Nitrogen is obtained for agricultural purposes from the 
following sources: rainfall, snowfall, and electrical storms; 
bacteria are the natural means by which nitrogen is supplied 
to the soil. Fish, blood, tankage, cottonseed, sodium nitrate, 
calcium nitrate, and ammonium sulphate are commercial forms 
of nitrogen. Farm manure, green manures, such as inocu- 
lated legumes and crop residues, are the natural economic 



110 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

methods of maintaining and increasing soil nitrogen in gen- 
eral farming. 

The chief value of farm manure, aside from its supplying 
organic matter, is its source of nitrogen supply, but, as was 
noted above, it is impracticable under the present production 
of live stock to look to this source for an adequate supply 
of nitrogen. A more interesting and economic source is the 
green manure from inoculated legumes. One ton of red 
clover, when plowed into the average normal soil, will enrich 
the soil by the addition of forty pounds of nitrogen, and 
is, therefore, equal in nitrogen value to four tons of barn- 
yard manure. The use of red clover, alfalfa, cow-peas, soy 
beans, sweet clover, and other legumes provides the greatest 
soil improvers, and has niade possible a permanent economic 
system of soil improvement. The use of high-priced com- 
mercial nitrogen is artificial and unprofitable in general farm- 
ing operations. 

A system of crop rotation that does not include a legume 
crop which may be incorporated into the soil to furnish the 
organic matter and the nitrogen supply is not a part of a 
permanent system of soil improvement. 

Phosphorus. Doctor Hopkins calls phosphorus the master- 
key to permanent agriculture. He says that phosphorus is 
really what its name signifies — light-bringer ; but that it is 
a light which the American farmer has not seen. We have 
exported to Europe each year enough phosphorus to double 
the average crop production of the entire United States, if 
it were all wisely used on our soils. The tables given in 
a previous paragraph show that ordinary soils are defi- 



SOILS 111 

cient in phosphorus, and the results of many experiments in 
the United States and in England have shown that the 
application of phosphorus in good systems of farming pro- 
duces marked and profitable increases in crop yields. 

The important question- is what form of phosphorus we 
shall apply. There are many kinds of fertilizing materials 
containing phosphorus, and one maj cost many times as much 
as another. For example, 280 pounds of phosphorus in a 
ton of finely ground natural rock phosphate may be pur- 
chased at the mines in Tennessee and delivered at the farm- 
er's railroad station in the central states for about $12. 
Or, the ton of raw phosphate may be mixed with a ton of 
sulphuric acid in the factory, and the two tons of acid phos- 
phate may be sold to the farmer for $60. Again, the fer- 
tilizer manufacturer may mix two tons of acid phosphate 
with two tons of filler containing a little nitrogen and potas- 
sium, and then sell the four tons of complete ' fertilizer for 
$160. And the farmer gets only as much phosphorus in the 
complete fertilizer for $160 as he would get in the one ton 
of natural phosphate for $12. 

Common sources of phosphorus are raw bone, steamed bone, 
raw rock phosphate, acid phosphate, and basic slag. The next 
important question for consideration is the problem of mak- 
ing the phosphorus available as it appears in these various 
sources. 

AVhen the natural rock is used, it should be ground so 
that at least 90 per cent mil pass through a sieve with ten 
thousand meshes to the square inch, and a content of from 
12 to 15 per cent of phosphorus should also be guaranteed. 



112 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Twelve to 15 per cent of phosphorus in rock phosphate is 
equivalent to the 28 and 34 per cent of the so-called phos- 
phoric acid. It must also be said, in advising the use of 
the natural rock, that it must be used liberally and in con- 
nection with plenty of decaying organic matter. The phos- 
phorus in the raw rock must be made available, and this is 
done through the decomposition of organic matter. About 
one ton of rock phosphate once every four or five years incor- 
porated in the soil with a green manure crop or barnyard 
manure is the economic way of using this mineral plant-food. 
As was said before, in the decomposition of these organic 
materials, carbonic acid and possibly other acids are formed, 
and these furnish a solvent for the phosphorus compound in 
the natural rock. 

Other forms of phosphorus, such as raw bone, steamed 
bone, and acid phosphate, are more quickly available than 
the rock phosphate and give quicker results when used, but 
they are more expensive when purchased in sufficient quan- 
tity to supply the need. These soluble forms of phosphorus 
may be practical and economical in truck farming, garden- 
ing, and in starting such crops as alfalfa and other legumes. 

Potassium. The tables given in a preceding paragraph 
show that potassium is an abundant element in normal soils. 
It is found in greater abundance in clay soils than in sandy 
or peat soils. As it exists in clay soils it is often unavailable 
and must be made soluble for the plants' use by proper 
tillage and by the use of organic matter. By the use of 
active organic matter, as explained above, large quantities 
of potassium otherwise not available are made available to 



SOILS 113 

the plant through the decomposition of the organic matter. 
Barnyard manure serves in this way in addition to other more 
direct benefits. In a peaty swamp soil or bog land, it has 
been found that the potassium content is often very deficient, 
and that its deficiency is a limiting element in the produc- 
tion of crops. 

The commercial sources of potassium are kainit, potassium 
sulphate, potassium chloride, wood ashes, and manure. 

It would seem, therefore, that in systems of general farm- 
ing it would not be necessary to apply commercial forms of 
potassium, but to utilize the supply already found in abun- 
dance in the soil. Sometimes, however, in getting legumes 
started, and in building up worn out land, it may be neces- 
sary to make an application of some form of potassium such 
as kainit, in order to furnish food which is quickly available 
for the young plant. In truck and garden farming Avhere 
intensive methods are used, applications of potassium are 
often profitable. 

Limestone. We must not omit mentioning limestone as a 
factor in soil fertility. Its first chemical effect is to neu- 
tralize the excessive acidity which prevents the growth of 
legumes. Often the first step, therefore, in renewing a soil 
is to correct the acidity, making it possible for the legumes 
to grow so that organic matter may be incorporated into the 
soil, thus furnishing a basis upon which to build the nitrogen 
and mineral plant-food supplies. Certain plants require large 
amounts of calcium as a plant-food, such as clover, alfalfa, 
and blue grass. Lime has been used as a fertilizer for thou- 
sands of years. It has been used in three forms : the ground 



114. A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

limestone or calcium carbonate, the burned lime or calcium 
oxide, and the hydrated lime or calcium hydroxide. Recent 
practices have justified the conclusion that ground limestone 
may be applied in any amount with no injurious results, 
while caustic lime destroys the organic matter, dissipates the 
soil nitrogen, is disagreeable to handle, and may injure the 
crop. If dolomitic limestone is used, magnesium as well as 
calcium is thus added to the soil. Limestone need not be 
very finely pulverized. If ground so that it will pass through 
a ten-mesh sieve, it is fine enough, and the coarser and finer 
material may be profitably mixed together in the application. 

Limestone is easily soluble in soil water carrying carbonic 
acid. It is thus readily available, and in humid sections the 
loss by leaching is great. About two tons an acre of ground 
limestone should be applied every four years when necessary 
in economic systems of farming. There are now on the mar- 
ket special spreaders to use in the application of fine ground 
raw rock phosphate and the pulverized limestone. 

The following record of a crop rotation and the applica- 
tion of rock phosphate and limestone in a system of per- 
manent agriculture is an account of an actual farm in south- 
ern Illinois which had been agriculturally abandoned for five 
years previous because of its inability to produce profitable 
crops with ordinary methods of farming. This outline care- 
fully studied will give the student and the practical farmer 
the correct idea of permanent systems of soil fertility, and 
what is meant by conservation of soil resources. 

The farm under consideration consisted of about 300 acres 
of poor, gray prairie land and was purchased in November, 



SOILS 



115 



1903, for $15 an acre. It was known in the community 
as the ''Poorland Farm." The work of restoration was 
begun on 40 acres of the farm, which were covered with a 
growth of red sorrel, poverty grass, and weeds. The land 
was sour, dead, and depleted of plant-food. During the ten 
years following the purchase of the farm the 40 acres 
received the following treatment: 



1903 



Fall 



1903 


« 


1904 


Spring and 




Summer 


1904 


Fall 


1905 


Spring 


1905 


Fall 


1906 


Spring 


1907 


(C 


1908 




1909 




1909 


Fall 


1909 


" 


1910 


Spring and 




Summer 


1911 


Spring 


1912 


Spring and 




Summer 


1912 


Fall 


1912 


6€ 


1912 


Summer 



Applied one ton per acre — fine ground rock 

phosphate 
Plowed for corn for next year 

Crop of corn 

Applied limestone, two tons per acre 

Crop of soy beans 

Crop of wheat 

Clover sowed in wheat 

Timothy and more clover 

Meadow and pasture 

Meadow and pasture 

Applied rock phosphate 

Plowed for corn 

Crop of corn 

Oats — volunteer clover appeared 

Clover harvested 

Plowed for wheat 

Applied limestone — two tons per acre 

Wheat harvest 



Six loads per acre of barnyard manure were applied once 
during the ten years. Only 39 acres were in wheat, a lane 
having been fenced off on one side of the field. The yields 
were as follows : 



116 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



li-o acres, with farm manure only, 11 V^ bushels per acre. 

11/2 acres, with farm manure and one application of ground 
limestone, 15 bushels per acre. 
36 acres, with farm manure, two applications of ground 
limestone and two of fine ground phosphate, in the rota- 
tion as described above, SdYo bushels per acre. 







1 


v^H 


B 1.^ 


\ 






i 


1 ^~^^H 


Bf^^ 








) 


r ,^1 






•' 


I 

^ 


f 






^--J 


I 


\n \cre ol Wheat 

Land treated 
^ ith Farm Manure 


-i 

i, 






Vn Acre ..f U tic^fr"*!*^1|J|H 

f^nd treated with |r ^^H 

Manure. Limestone A K MWI 

^,,., Phosphate Ki^HI 


L-. 


_-fl;.,_ 


J 






IfcjUlf J 



FIG. 17. 



EXHIBIT SHOWING THE VALUE OF LIME AND 
PHOSPHATE 



Here we have a yield of wheat about double that of the 
average land of the state. The practical farmer will nat- 
urally ask, ''What did all this cost?" The average annual 



SOILS 117 

cost for the purchase, delivery, and application of the lime- 
stone and phosphate was $1.75 per acre. In the ten years, 
then, the total cost was $17.50 per acre. Add to this the 
original cost, $15 per acre, making $32.50, and still you have 
pretty cheap land to produce double the average of the 
state. Doctor Hopkins puts it this way: *'The average 
annual investment of $1.75 resulted in an increase of 24 
bushels of wheat (35% — 11%) per acre. Thus we may say 
that the application of these two natural rocks, or stones, 
brought about the production in 1913 of 864 bushels of wheat, 
an amount sufficient to furnish a year's supply of bread for 
more than a hundred people." 

This story of the Poorland Farm is a remarkable instance 
of the conservation of one of our greatest resources, the soil. 
Conservation means a saving of the resource by a wise use 
of it. At the end of ten years of use the soil on the ''Poor- 
land Farm" is producing more wheat than the average pro- 
duction of the state, and at the same time its fertility is 
increasing year by year. 

Summary of facts on soil fertility. In the following para- 
graphs the basic facts of the Illinois system of permanent 
fertility are summarized. These should be thoroughly un- 
derstood and become the ready knowledge of every student 
of agriculture. 

All agricultural plants are made of ten elements, five of 
which are always provided by nature in abundance, carbon 
and oxygen taken from the air, hydrogen from water, and 
iron and sulphur from the soil. Man need not concern him- 
self about these five elements. His fertility problem is thus 



118 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

at once reduced to a consideration of the other elements, 
nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium. 

The Illinois system of permanent soil fertility recognizes 
that there is an inexhaustible supply of nitrogen in the air, 
and provides for its utilization as needed; also that there is 
an inexhaustible supply of potassium in the soil which may 
also be liberated and utilized as needed. It also recognizes 
that the supply of phosphorus in the common Illinois soil 
is very limited, that phosphorus is contained neither in the 
air nor in the rain, and consequently that phosphorus must 
be purchased and applied to the soil in larger amounts than 
are removed in crops if the productive power of the soil is 
to be increased and permanently maintained. The Illinois 
system also recognizes that soils should be sweet, not acid 
or sour, and that ground limestone will destroy acidity and 
also provide calcium, which is sometimes deficient ; and, finally, 
that if magnesium is also deficient in the soil, which is rarely 
the case, it, too, may be provided, together with calcium, in 
dolomitic limestone, which is the most common limestone of 
northern Illinois, and which consists of the double carbonate 
of calcium and magnesium. 

These are the simple basic facts which every man should 
make a part of his ready knowledge, and then proeeed to 
make use of in his farm practice. 

There is no one order of procedure that is best under all 
conditions, and the step which should be taken first in one 
season may not be best in another season. However, these 
are minor matters, the same as the time of plowing, the time 



SOILS 119 

of planting corn, and the question of threshing from the 
stack or after stacking. 

One method of procedure in the beginning of a system of 
permanent soil fertility is to spread one ton of finely ground 
rock phosphate per acre on pasture land or clover meadow 
and plow it under ; then apply two to four tons of limestone 
per acre, mix it with the soil in preparing the seed-bed, sow- 
ing wheat in the fall and clover the next spring; or apply 
rock phosphate where manure has been spread, and plow 
both under for corn; then apply the limestone before plant- 
ing the corn. Both phosphate and limestone are then in the 
soil ready to benefit oats and clover which may follow the 
next year after corn. 

After the first rotation, half of these quantities of fer- 
tilizer once every four or five years is sufficient to main- 
tain permanently the supply of both limestone and phos- 
phorus. While limestone and phosphate, when properly used, 
increase the yields of wheat, oats, and com, their most im- 
portant use in permanent agriculture is to make possible 
the production of large yields of clover and other legumes 
which may be returned to the soil in large part, either with 
crop residue or in farm manure, in order to provide both 
nitrogen and organic matter, and thus complete a system of 
permanent soil fertility. Benefits are also insured from 
the physical improvement of the soil which is brought about 
by the addition both of organic matter and of limestone. 

The important question remains, how much clover or 
manure must be returned to the soil to maintain the supply 



120 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

of nitrogen. To replace the nitrogen carried away in a 60- 
bushel crop of com would require nine tons of manure or 
two and a quarter tons of clover per acre. The important 
thing is to use the facts concerning the amount of nitrogen 
in manure and crops, and return enough to the soil to pro- 
vide for the grain crops, having such yields as are desirable 
or possible under permanent systems. The following facts 
should help us to solve this problem: 

Nitrogen Supplies and Requirements 

Manure and produce Nitrogen 

1 ton average manure 10 pounds 

1 ton clover hay 40 

1 ton alfalfa hay 50 

100 bu. corn 100 

3 tons corn stalks 48 

100 bu. oats 66 

21/. tons oat straw 31 

50 bu. wheat 71 

2V2 tons wheat straw 25 

On Live-Stock Farms 

For the live-stock farmer I would suggest a five-field rota- 
tion system besides the pasture land. Four of these fields 
may be used for a four-year rotation of com, oats, and 
clover, while the fifth field grows alfalfa for perhaps five 
years, after which the alfalfa field may be put into the 
four-year rotation, and one of the other fields used for 
alfalfa for another five-year period, and so on. If the manure 
is saved with reasonable care, as many tons should be returned 
to the soil as the number of tons of air-dry produce that are 



SOILS 121 

hauled off. It may be assumed that the roots and stubble 
of the clover and alfalfa contain no more nitrogen than was 
furnished by the soil for those crops, but that the nitrogen 
contained in the hay harvested may represent new nitrogen 
taken from the air. With the information thus far secured 
this is a reasonable basis to figure on for soils of moderate 
productive power. 

For the grain and hay farmer this rotation may well be 
modified by substituting wheat for the first corn crop, thus 
growing wheat, com, oats, and clover in the four-year rota- 
tion, and alfalfa on the fifth field. If only the grain, clover 
seed, and the alfalfa hay are sold, all stalks, straw, and clover 
(except the seed) being returned to the land, the nitrogen 
and organic matter may be maintained by the grain and hay 
farmer, provided a cover crop of clover is also seeded on the 
wheat ground in the spring to be plowed under late in the 
following fall or sufficiently early the next spring so as to 
get the land in good shape for corn. 

Where there is no permanent pasture land, the live-stock 
farmer may seed both clover and timothy with the oats, and 
then use the field two or three years for meadow and pas- 
ture, thus making a six-field or seven-field system. With 
some modifications, a system of mixed farming may be prac- 
ticed in which some crops are sold and others fed to live 
stock. 

Notebook Questions 

1. Why is the soil our greatest natural resource? 

2. List the asjencies active in the formation of the soil. 



122 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

3. What are the types of soil of your local community? 

4. Show how water may be a limiting factor in the pro- 
duction of the maximum crops. 

5. What is meant by active organic matter in the soil? 

6. Give some values of cultivation of soil. 

7. What is meant by a live soil? 

8. Name the ten plant-food elements and give their com- 
mon source. 

9. Which elements are most abundant and which are likely 
to be deficient? 

10. What farm crops are the heaviest feeders on soil fer- 
tility? 

11. What is meant by available plant-food in the soil? 

12. How is plant-food lost from the soil? 

13. What is meant by green manure, and what is its value? 

14. Mention all the values of organic matter in soil fer- 
tility. 

15. What are the most economic sources of nitrogen, phos- 
phorus, and calcium in systems of permanent soil fertility ? 

16. Compare the cost of commercial forms of nitrogen 
with the natural source in legume crops. 

17. Compare the cost of acid phosphate with raw rock 
phosphate. 

18. What is meant by complete fertilizer? 

19. Explain why the Poorland Farm mentioned in the 
preceding chapter was poor land. What were the essential 
steps in restoring this farm? (The answer to this question 
should be an explanation of a system of permanent soil fer- 
tility.) 

20. (a) To produce 100 pounds of grain requires about 
3 pounds of nitrogen, of which 2 pounds are deposited in 
the grain itself and 1 pound in the straw or stalks. 

(b) In live-stock farming one-fourth of the nitrogen in 
the food consumed is retained in the animal products — meat, 



SOILS 123 

milk, wool, and so on — and three-fourths may be returned to 
the land in the excrements if saved without loss. 

(c) When groAvn on soils of normal productive capacity, 
legumes secure about two-thirds of their total nitrogen from 
the air and one-third from the soil. 

(d) Clover and other biennial or perennial legumes have 
about two-thirds of their total nitrogen in the tops and one- 
third in the roots, while the roots of cow-peas and other 
annual legumes contain only about one-tenth of their total 
nitrogen. 

(e) Hay made from our common legumes contains about 
40 pounds of nitrogen per ton. 

(f) Average farm manure contains 10 pounds of nitrogen 
per ton. 

Question: How many tons of average farm manure must 
be applied to a 40-acre field in order to provide as much 
nitrogen as would be added to the soil by plowing under 2i/2 
tons of clover per acre ? Answer — 400 tons. 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

1. Field trip study of soil formation. Early in the study 
of soils the instructor should take the class to places previ- 
ously noted w^here there are good examples of soil formation 
by weathering, by plant action, by animals, and by other 
agencies discussed in the chapter. Require the pupils to 
take notes on observations made. 

2. Comparison of surface soil and subsoil. Go to a field 
and get three soil samples as follows: 

(a) Scrape away the plant growth and surface trash, 
take a sample of soil just below this, and seal it air-tight in 
a small jar. 

(b) Dig or bore down to a depth of six inches and take 
another sample of soil. 



124 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



(c) Secure a third sample from a depth of twelve inches 
from the surface. 

Eeturn to the laboratory and weigh out four ounces of 
each sample of soil. Spread each sample in a shallow pan 
and allow to dry for two or more days. Weigh each sample 
again. The difference between these weights and the first 
ones is the amount of water in the soils removed by evapora- 
tion. Note the color of each sample of soil. Examine with 
hand lens to see the size of soil particles. Heat each sample 
in an iron spoon until everything that will burn has been 
burned, and weigh each sample again. The difference between 
these weights and the last ones shows approximately the 
amount of organic matter in each. The last weights show 
the amounts of mineral matter in the soil samples. Tabulate 
the results as follows: 



Depth of soil 


Color 


Amount 

of 
moisture 


Amount 

of 
organic 
matter 


Ap^ount 

of 
mineral 
matter 


Size of 

soil 
particles 


Type of 
soil 


1 inch 














6 inches 












12 inches 















Repeat this exercise with samples from different fields. 



3. Physical examination of soil particles. Pulverize air- 
dry samples of sand, loam, clay, and gravel. Place a few 
grains of each sample of soil on a white paper and examine 
with hand lens. Tabulate your observations as follows: 



SOILS 



125 



Soil type 


Color- 
White, gray, 
brown, black 


Shape — 

Angular or 

round 


Condition- 
Single or 
compound 
particles 


Size- 
Coarse, 
medium or 
fine 


Sand 










Loam 










Clay 










Gravel 











4. Soil studies for water content. Go to the field and with 
an augnr take samples of surface soil, subsurface, and sub- 
soil. Cover the samples in air-tight fruit jars, and take to 
the laboratory for further study. To determine the amount 
of capillary water in the soils, weigh the soil when taken, 
and after it is thoroughly air-dried weigh again. Note the 
difference as to capillary water. To determine the hygroscopic 
water, use the air-dried samples above obtained, note the 
weight made, then submit the soil to a temperature of 212° 
F. This drives off all hygroscopic water. Weigh again, and 
the difference should indicate the amount of this form of 
water. 

5. Determination of volume, weig'ht, and specific gravity 
of soils. Procure a given volume of soil. Weigh and deter- 
mine specific gravity by methods common in physical labora- 
tory. 

6. Capillary rise of water. Fill glass tubes, preferably 
three feet in length and an inch or two in diameter, with air- 
dried soil representing as many different types as are avail- 
able, such as sand, clay, loam, etc. Tie a cloth over the lower 



126 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

end of each tube and fill with soil. Fasten the tubes with 
one end lowered in a vessel of water. Note from hour to 
hour the first day, and for twenty-four-hour periods after- 
wards, the rate and height of the rise of water in each type 
of soil. 

7. Water-holding capacity of different soils. Fill tubes 
similar to the ones given in the preceding exercise with the 
same types of soil, and weigh the soil in each tube. Sup- 
port the tubes so that water may be poured at the top and 
be permitted to percolate through the soil. As soon as the 
water begins to drip through the soils, cease pouring water 
upon them and after the dripping has stopped weigh the 
tubes to determine the amount of water held in the soils. 
This exercise will also show variations in the rate of per- 
colation of water through the different types of soil. These 
facts should be noted, also, in recording the results of this 
exercise. 

8. Effect of the soil mulch. Fill two vessels with equal 
weights of the same kind of moist soil. Stir the surface of 
one, and leave the other with the surface the same. Continue 
stirring the surface from day to day and note the difference 
in the weights of the two vessels. Explain the result of this 
exercise. 

9. Effects of lime on physical condition. Make up a clay 
mud-ball mixed with ordinary rain water, and a second ball 
mixed with saturated limewater. Place the two balls aside 
for two days. Note the difference with which the two balls 
may be crumbled. Explain. 

10. Effect of manures on physical condition of soil. Put 
some finely-screened clay in each of two pans. Pour the same 
amount of water into each pan and stir each until you have 
a thick, well-mixed mass. Into one pan mix thoroughly a 
handful of well-rotted manure or leaf-mould. Set both pans 
aside for the soil to dry. Which dries first? Why? When 



SOILS 127 

thoroughly dry, crush the soil in each pan. Note the hard- 
ness of each soil. Write two sentences on the value of 
manures or other organic matter to a soil. 

11. Observational study of the plant-food elements. Have 
samples of some form of the ten plant-food elements de- 
scribed in the chapter for observational work in these 
studies. 

12. Testing soils for acidity. Bring in samples of soil 
from the various homes of the community to test for acidity. 
Cover a bit of blue litmus paper with moist soil, and after ten 
minutes examine the litmus paper. If it has turned red, it 
is an indication that the soil is acid. If hydrochloric acid be 
poured upon the soil and it effervesces, it is an indication 
that carbonates are present and that the soil does not need 
limestone to correct the acidity. 

13. Soil drainage demonstration. There is on the market 
now a very practical and simple piece of equipment called 
the soil drainage apparatus which should be used in this 
exercise to demonstrate the principles of drainage and to illus- 
trate the process. Directions will not be given here, for they 
accompany the apparatus when purchased. 

14. Simple soil tests for nitrogen. To tell accurately the 
amount of nitrogen in soil requires elaborate equipment, but 
the following method will answer for practical purposes and 
does not require much apparatus. 

In a clean glass vessel which can be heated place two 
tablespoonfuls of the soil to be tested. Add fifteen table- 
spoonfuls of ten per cent caustic potash solution. In another 
vessel add fifteen tablespoonfuls of water to two tablespoon- 
fuls of soil. This is the control. Heat both samples to the 
boiling point, and set them aside for five minutes. If at the 
end of that time the solution which contains the caustic potash 
is black and opaque, the soil is rich in nitrogen. If it is merely 
dark and allows light to pass through it, the nitrogen content 



128 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



of the soil is low. If the solution is yellowish, there is prac- 
tically no nitrogen content. Compare the sample containing 
only water with the one containing the caustic potash. Test 
several samples of soil by this method, and record results as 
follows : 



Soil samples 


Nitrogen 
content high 


Nitrogen 
content medium 


Nitrogen 
content low 


1 












2 












3 













15. Pot cultures of community soils. In order to deter- 
mine the limiting plant-food elements in the soils of the 
locality, the pot culture method is a practical one to use. 
As many different systems of pots may be employed as there 
are farmers represented by members of the class. For each 
soil type to be studied secure ten four-gallon earthen jars. 
Fill each jar with the same kind of soil, taken from the field 
to be tested. Make sure that there is drainage from the bot- 
tom of the jar. Treat the soil in each jar as follows: 

Jar No. 1 — Nothing. 

" 2 — Lime (hydrated), 12.5 grams. Well rotted barnyard 
manure (a sufficient amount worl5:ed into the soil to 
cover the surface about two or three inches). 

" 3 — Lime; nitrogen (dried blood, 15 grams). 

" 4 — Lime; phosphorus (bone-meal, 6 grams). 

" 5 — Lime; potassium (potassium sulphate, 3 grams). 

" 6 — Lime; nitrogen; phosphorus. 

" 7 — Lime; nitrogen; potassium. 

" 8 — Lime; phosphorus; potassium. 

" 9 — Lime; nitrogen; phosphorus; potassium. 

" 10 — Virgin soil, untreated. 



SOILS 129 

Use the same amounts and forms for the lime, nitrogen, 
phosphorus, and potassium in each application given above 
as directed in jars Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5. The best way to incor- 
porate these fertilizers in the soil is to apply them in the 
form of solution. 

Sow in each pot equal amounts of wheat or oats, and give 
the samples the same care and attention regarding light, 
temperature, and moisture. Note the growth of the plant 
from week to week. The growth of the plant should indicate 
the limiting plant-food element in the type of soil under 
observation. Record fully this experiment in the notebook. 

16. Outdoor plot experiments with various fertilizers in 
methods of soil improvement. For a demonstration plot at 
the school, the following plan is feasible, providing labor is 
available and a long time policy of management is possible. 

Arrangement and Numbering of Plots 
10 11 12 13 14 15 



21 


22 


23 


24 


25 


31 


32 


33 


34 


35 


41 


42 


43 


44 


45 



General suggestions: Every boundary line should be a 
grass or gravel walk three feet wide. Every square should 
be 18 by 18 feet. Before harvesting crops, for records, each 
plot or square should be cut to a perfect rod square. For 
yield per acre, multiply by 160. 

Rotations should be conducted as follows : 

Plots 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 — Continuous corn crops. 

20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 — Corn and oats rotation. 

30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35— Corn, oats and clover rotation. 

" 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 — Corn, oats, clover and wheat rotation. 



l^Q A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

The experiments in the value of standard fertilizers could 
be tested in this way: 

Plots 10, 20, 30, 40— Nothing. 

11, 21, 31, 41— Apply farm manure (rate 3 or 4 tons per acre). 

12, 22, 32, 42 — Manure and lime (lime, 2 tons per acre). 

13, 23, 33, 43 — Manure, lime and phosphorus (phosphorus, 1 

ton per acre). 

" 14, 24, 34, 44 — Manure, lime, phosphorus, and potassium (kai- 
nit, 400 lbs. per acre). 

" 15, 25, 35, 45 — Nothing, and remove all vegetable matter be- 
fore it decays. 

Complete records of the treatment of the soil and of crop 
yields, together with an accurate map of the plots, should be 
kept. 



PART II 
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 

CHAPTER IX 

FARM ANIMALS AND LIVE-STOCK FARMING 

Live-stock farming'. So important are farm animals in 
agriculture that whole systems of farming are built about the 
live-stock interests. Without discussing the comparative 
merits of live-stock farming and grain farming, we must all 
agree that the raising of live stock on any farm has its 
advantages both to the farm and to the public good. Since 
the decrease of live stock on the great ranges of the West, 
and since general farmers have commonly stopped raising 
cattle because they were unable to compete with the 
production of the range, the raising of live stock has 
decreased in the United States until in the last decade 
we have had an 8 per cent decrease of live stock 
and a 25 per cent increase of our population. As 
a public question, therefore, it is of prime importance that 
the farms of the country begin the business of raising more 
live stock. This would, furthermore, work to the advantage 
of the individual farmer. The raising of live stock on the 
farm enables farmers to utilize profitably much material that 
would otherwise be of little value. Moreover, by feeding 
his fodder and grain to animals he can get much more than 

131 



132 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

by selling them directly. Besides this the waste materials 
are returned to the soil as fertilizer. Another value of live 
stock on the farm which must be noted is the satisfaction 
and pride which the business gives to the farmer, especially 
if he has good farm animals, and this satisfaction is no small 
asset in successful agriculture. 

Pure breds versus scrubs. All these values of live stock 
on the farm are truer if we have pure-bred stock instead 
of scrubs. With the same amount of feed the pure- 
bred or well-bred animal converts it into the produce desired 
more efficiently. The good cow turns the food given her into 
larger and better quantities of milk; the good beef animal 
converts the food into large quantities of high-grade meat; 
the good hen utilizes her food in the production of the maxi- 
mum amount of eggs in the fall and winter season ; the good 
horse converts his food into energy and endurance at the 
minimum cost ; and so on through the whole live-stock list. 
The pure-bred animals have been bred up so that the desir- 
able characteristics are fixed and hereditary, and these char- 
acteristics are maintained by economical feeding and care. All 
this implies that well-bred animals bring more money on the 
market, and this fact alone would justify their production. 
The point made in the last paragraph that farm animals con- 
tribute to the pride of the farmers in his vocation is especially 
true of animals of the pure-bred type. The production of 
well-bred animals leads the farmer to improve his place, prob- 
ably name his farm, advertise his goods, and bring to his home 
and family all the best things which an interest in good farm 
animals will bring. 



CHAPTER X 

THE HORSE 

Horses and automobiles. Though the automobile and gas 
engine may seem to be displacing the horse in some in- 
stances, the high prices and great demand for good horses 
lead us to believe that mechanical power is not a successful 
substitute for the horse in all its work, nor that it is ever 
likely to be. We can not imagine a farm without horses. 
Probably most of our present enjoyment of comforts and 
conveniences is traceable to our friend and servant, the 
horse. 

There are about one-fourth as many horses in our country 
as there are people, and about three-fourths of these horses 
are on the farm. We are indebted to the horses that do the 
work on the farms for the production of most of our food. 
Horses are increasing in esteem and numbers, and more atten- 
tion is being paid to their health and comfort. The great 
question on the farm today is how to plan the farming opera- 
tions so that the horse labor will be used more effectively, 
thus reducing the number of horses and getting more efficient 
use of those that rem_ain. 

The work of horses. Different kinds of horses are adapted 
to different kinds of work. One horse may draw a buggy 
along the road at the rate of ten miles an hour, and thus be 

133 



134 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

valuable as a roadster. Another may draw his share of a 
load of one ton or more and be of service as a draft horse. 
One may be just as useful to the owner as the other, each 
performing the work to which he is best adapted. 

With horses as with men, work is the result of the action 
of the muscles. About 40 per cent of the weight of the horse 
is muscle. Muscles of locomotion are attached to tendons and 
bones, and by contracting and expanding cause the bones to 
m.ove. The lower part of the horse's leg is nearly all bone, 
but the muscles which move it are in the upper part of the 
leg and in the body. The common idea about the muscles 
of horses is often expressed, "Long muscles for speed; short 
muscles for power." In buying horses to draw heavy loads, 
we look for large and heavy muscles, while in driving horses 
we attach greater importance to length of muscles. Most of 
the horse's propelling muscles are in the hind quarters, and 
if you watch a horse pulling a heavy load you may be sur- 
prised to see that most of the work is being done with the 
hind legs. It is very important that there be large, strong 
hocks; the croup should be wide and straight; quarters and 
thighs, deep and heavily muscled; the legs straight and 
placed squarely under the body. 

It is very desirable, also, that a horse should have a rather 
short back; that is, short from the hips to the withers. We 
are to learn that the hind parts really push the rest of the 
body along; therefore a long back would hinder easy and 
rapid motion. Of course the front parts of the horse are 
very important ; for no matter how strong the hind quarters 
are, if there is anything seriously wrong with the forelegs, he 



THE HORSE 



135 



can not travel well. The front knees of the horse should be 
large, straight, and angular, and, when viewed from in front, 
the feet should be in line with the legs. 

Appearance of horses. Everyone likes to see a beautiful 
horse, and even if a person has not studied horses he knows 
an attractive horse with good style and carriage when he sees 




FIG 18. A GOOD FARM TEAM 



it. No matter Avhat kind of work horses are kept to do, it 
is desirable that they look well. Much of the appearance 
of horses depends upon their flesh and fettle and the groom- 
ing they have had, but more depends upon the breeding. We 
like to see a horse with proper length of neck forming a crest 
rising upwards from the body, with the head and nose 



136 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

pointed a little forward, the ears erect and rather close 
together, the eyes large and bright, and the whole body 
neat, trim, and gracefully poised. 

Breeds and Types of Horses 

Some horse history. The horse was probably the next 
animal after the dog to be domesticated. Its immediate ances- 
try is almost a matter of conjecture, since there have been 
no really wild horses within historic times. Down deep in 
the rocks, geologists have found remains of an animal that 
apparently was a relative of the horse. This ancient horse 
was smaller than ours, and, in place of one toe and hoof on 
each foot, he had three toes. Other remains were found of 
horses with five toes. The splint bones, the slender bones on 
either side of the long bone just below the knee, are all that is 
left of the two outside toes of the three-toed horse. The wild 
ass of Abyssinia, the zebra, and quagga of South America, 
are the modern relatives of our horses. 

The early use of the horse was to carry man on his back 
in hunting the fleeter game, and in waging war. The horse 
has never been used for food except in France, though recently 
such use has been recognized in New York and in other sec- 
tions as an emergency food. As man became more civilized, 
he found new uses for the horse, until now, in the twentieth 
century, even the gas engine can not detract from the great 
number of services Avhich this beast performs. The various 
uses to which man has put the horse has caused the different 
types and breeds to develop. Draft horses are heavy and 



THE HORSE 137 

strong and move best at a walk. They have been developed 
for power. Driving horses are built for speed and style, are 
quicker, and are characterized by long, even strides in the 
run and by great powers of endurance. 

Thoroughbreds. Students of history will recall the great 
Crusades in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when Eng- 
land, France, and Germany sent warriors to rescue the Holy 
Land from the Saracens. They were strong men mounted 
on large horses of great endurance, but the warriors were 
surprised to find the Saracens mounted on splendid horses 
more beautiful than any they had ever seen, the agile Ara- 
bian horse, bred for a thousand years for speed and endur- 
ance. The Englishmen took some of these beautiful Arabian 
horses back home with them, and, by breeding them with 
the best of the old English horses, developed the Thorough- 
breds. Darley Arabia, Gadolphus Arabian, and Byrley Turk 
are three Archian stallions that figure in the development of 
the Thoroughbred. They were used in tournaments or mock 
battles, in fox hunting, and also in horse racing. Only the 
pedigreed horses could enter the races, and hence they became 
known as Thoroughbreds. Thoroughbred is the proper name 
for the English running horse, the oldest established breed 
in the world, and this horse became the foundation for all 
American trotters and saddle horses. 

Draft horses. The Arabian horses which the Frenchmen 
took back from the Crusades were bred with the common 
farm horses of France, and the modern Percheron is the 
result. Though as heavy as any other draft horse, he has 
good action inherited from the early Arabian stock. The 



138 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Belgian was developed from the old heavy horses of Flanders. 
The Shire and Clydesdale were developed from the old stock 
of heavy horses of the British Isles and the horses of Flanders. 
England early developed the coach horse, lighter than the 
draft horse but heavier than the Thoroughbred. The modern 
Cleveland bay is the descendant of this coach horse. 

The farm horse. Of all the types of horses, the draft 
horse of from 1600 to 2200 pounds is the one the farmer 




FIG. 19. A PERCHERON STALLION 

maintains most successfully. This is because the weight and 
strength of the draft horses enable them to do the general 
work of the farm, and because they may be put on the mar- 
ket with less training than other classes of horses require. 



THE HORSE 



139 




FIG. 20. A SHIRE STALLION 

The well-to-do farmer often keeps carriage or road horses. 
These are a kind of coach horse fifteen or sixteen hands high, 
of beautiful form, and even temperament. 

The Percheron. The Percheron draft horse is a native of 
La Percha, France. It is noted for its massive size, good 
quality, endurance, and action. Stallions usually weigh from 
1700 to 2000 pounds. They range from fifteen and one-half 
to seventeen hands high. The color is variable, though black 
and dapple gray predominate. This is the most common 
breed of heavy draft horse in the United States. 

The Shire. The Shire draft horse was developed in Eng- 
land about 150 years ago. It is commonly known as the old- 
est breed of ''cart horse" (this term is also applied to Bel- 



140 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

gians), and for heavy draft it is unexcelled. Shires often 
make the heaviest of all draft horses, sometimes weighing 
2300 pounds. Bay or brown is the preferred color, with 
white on the forehead and on the legs below the knees and 
hocks. Grays and blacks are common. Long hair on the 
back of the cannons is a breed characteristic. 



^ll^i— ■ 


#ri 




"nil 


w 


B|^\M^ 1 


m 


M 


m 


^ 







FIG. 21. A CLYDESDALE lAIARE 

The Clydesdale. The Clydesdale draft horse originated 
in Scotland. It is an active breed, not so massive as the 
Percheron nor so heavy as the Shire. The weight varies from 
1600 to 2000 pounds. Bay or brown with white on the fore- 
head and on the legs below the knees and hocks is the most 



THE HORSE 141 

common marking, though there are many blacks and grays. 
Like the Shire, the long hair on the back of the cannons is 
a breed characteristic. 

The Belgian. The Belgian breed has been developed to a 
high standard through the great interest shown in horse 
breeding by the people of Belgium and the assistance given 
by their government. Unfortunately, in pushing through 
Belgium in the present war, the Germans have almost 
totally destroyed the horse breeding establishments of these 
brave and courageous people. Before the war, however, 
many of these horses were brought to the United States 
each year and thus the breed will be saved. The Belgian 
horses are the blockiest of all draft breeds. They are not 
as large as the Shire, but being so thick fleshed are equally 
as heavy. 

Grading up of horses. The term ''grading up" applies 
to the practice of mating common bred mares to pure-bred 
stallions, or the reverse, thus producing half-breeds. Half- 
breeds mated back to pure breeds of the same breed will 
increase the pure blood percentage in the offspring from one- 
half to three-fourths, and the next such cross to seven-eighths, 
and so on for each successive generation. A constructive 
grading-up process for the average farm community would 
be by the male line of pure-bred ancestors. 

If there are no enterprising, progressive men in the locality 
who are standing pure-bred, registered draft stallions, the 
first step would be to organize a community association to 
secure co-operatively the desired sires, and to promote the 
horse breeding industry. After a careful study of the mar- 



142 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

ket, a class should be decided upon that is having a brisk 
demand in the sale ring, and a brood mare should be selected 
of that type and conformation. This will gradually eliminate 
for breeding purposes all those specimens described by the 
horseman as unsound, ''stork" legged, "wasp" waisted, 
' ' washy ' ' coupled, and of faulty action. Those chosen should 
not only be sound and of the desired conformation, according 
to breed and type, but should show their sex characteristics 
in head and neck, having expression mild, forequarters fine 
but well formed, chest deep, barrel roomy, and hips wide 
apart, indicating ability to exercise the maternal functions. 

By mating these "hand-picked," sound, suitable grade 
mares wdth sound, muscular, pure-bred, registered stallions, 
the result cannot help but be promising. Continue to use the 
best obtainable pure-bred stallions of the same breed on the 
mares, and thus profit by the accumulation of the blood of 
the desired breed in the grading-up process. To mate a 
draft mare of the farm chunk type to a high* strung, standard- 
bred, 2:10 trotter with plenty of stamina or "class" may 
result in a fairly good foal from the cross, but one which 
does not fall under any of the established market classes 
and which would have to sell at a sacrifice. Not only will 
that particular cross be unprofitable, but furtjier progress 
in grading-up will be stopped because the preponderance of 
blood of the recognized breed has been lost. If, on the other 
hand, a grade mare is bred to a stallion of the same breed 
used in her grading-up, her filly foal will be one step nearer 
pure blood than her dam, and, if the process is continued, 
further progress in establishing purity of blood and the other 



THE HORSE I43 

desired characteristics which are associated with it will 
result. 

The mating of mares to pure-bred draft stallions is not all 
there is in securing uniformity of type and conformation in 
the offspring ; the feed, shelter, care, and handling are impor- 
tant items in producing good specimens of any class of 

live stock. 

Judging the Horse 

Points in judging the horse. The heavy draft horse is one 
of the most profitable classes of horses the farmer can raise. 
In judging the draft horse, as in judging all farm animals, 
these points are first noted: size, soundness, conformation, 
quality, action, and condition. In noting conformation, five 
main points must be observed closely: general appearance 
or form, head and neck, fore quarters, hind quarters, and 
body. These heads are subdivided into several minor points 
noted in the score-card, and one must study them carefully 
in order to be able to judge horses. 

General appearance. To judge the general appearance 
of a horse, view him from both sides and ends at a distance 
of about 20 feet. Ascertain in your mind the height and 
weight, and observe closely the general form and conforma- 
tion. The draft horse should be broad, smooth, and mas- 
sive, with all bony projections well covered with flesh. 
The skin must be soft, the hair smooth and fine. Care- 
fully observe the action of the horse. The stride should 
be straight, regular, long, elastic, and fast. The trot should 
be straight, springy, and free. While watching all the above 
qualities, the temper should be observed; the expression of 



144 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the eye and the carriage of the ears very often indicate the 
disposition of the animal. 

Head and neck. The head must be clean cut, well carried ; 
the profile straight and in good proportion to the size of the 
body. The eyes and ears should be examined with great care. 
Back the horse into a dark shed with the head to the light 
and place the hand over the eyes for about thirty seconds. 
Then remove the hand and watch the expansion and con- 
traction of the pupils. The pupils should be of the same 
color, elliptical in shape, and should respond readily to the 
light by expanding and contracting. Examine the top of the 
head for any enlargement such as Poll evil. The ears should 
be medium in size, carried well forward, and alert. The jaws 
should be clean, uniform, and straight. 

Fore quarters. The shoulders are especially important in 
a good draft horse. They should be smoothly muscled, mod- 
erately sloping, and extending well into the back. The arms 
should be short and heavily muscled, while the forearm should 
be longer and, from a side view, wide and well muscled. The 
knee seen from the front should be wide and straight. The 
cannons should be straight and short, and the tendons back 
of them strong and well set back from the bone. The pas- 
terns should be moderately sloping, showing great strength. 
The feet should be equal in size and the horn thick and dense 
and not inclined to be brittle. The toe should be straight, not 
turned in or out, the soles convex, the bars strong, the frog 
long and elastic, and the heels wide and well sprung. 

The body. The body includes the withers, chest, ribs, 
back, and loins. The withers must be broad and muscled to 



THE HORSE 145 

the top, the chest deep and round. The breast should be 
wide and carried low, giving a large girth; the ribs long 
and well sprung. The back should be short, broad, and 
well muscled. The loins should be short, wide, and flat, 
and the underline should be long and moderately curved. 
The flanks full and even, denoting a good feeder. 

Hind quarters. The hind quarters include more points to 
be noted than any other part of the animal. The thighs 
should be broad, smooth, and level; the croup moderately 
drooping, long, and heavily muscled; the tail attached high 
and well carried; the thigh deep, short, and heavily muscled; 
the quarter (between the thighs) plump and full; the stifle 
clean, round, and well fleshed; the gaskins long, wide, and 
smooth; the hocks, viewed from in front, broad, clean, and 
flat, and strongly supported below. The cannons are a little 
wider and longer than those in front; the pasterns and toes 
a little less sloping and shorter than those in the front legs. 
The feet are less rounding, but otherwise they should corre- 
spond exactly with those in the front. 

The Feeding and Care of Horses 

Feeding the horse. Considerable attention should be 
given to the feeding and care of the horse for the sake of his 
health and comfort. The horse has a small stomach and, 
therefore, should not be fed a large amount of food at one 
time; but that which is given must be nutritious. Nearly 
all diseases of the digestive organs are the result of improper 
feeding. Mouldy or musty foods should never be fed. A 



146 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

number of serious digestive disorders among horses often 
result from feeding corn in mouldy condition. A rather 
recent trouble among horses is forage poisoning, originat- 
ing from mouldy or other fungous growths eaten by the 
horse. 

Rations for horses. Corn and timothy hay alone are not 
good feeding rations for working horses. In this feed there 
is not enough protein food to keep the horse in the best con- 
dition. Oats and corn, with mixed clover and timothy hay 
for roughage, make a fairly good ration for the horse. Alfalfa 
hay, if well cured, is good and a great favorite with horses; 
with corn and oats it makes a good ration for the working 
horse. Corn may be fed in the ear, shelled, cracked, or 
chopped. The chopped corn is too fine, however, to be well 
digested. Ear corn and oats, half and half, make a good food 
commonly used on the farm. Patent stock foods are not to 
be used under any circumstances. Horses should be fed 
three times a day, as follows: The grain ration divided 
into three equal parts and fed morning, noon, and night. 
One-half the hay should be fed at night and one-fourth at 
morning and at noon. In general about one pound of con- 
centrate (grain) and one pound of roughage (hay) should 
be fed per one hundred pounds live weight of animal. A 
horse doing heavy work should receive from one and one- 
fourth to one and one-half pounds of concentrate and one 
pound of roughage per one hundred pounds live weight. 

A fifteen-hundred-pound horse at heavy work should receive, 
if fed corn, oats in ratio of two to one, and alfalfa hay — 
fourteen pounds of corn (twenty ears) and six pounds of 



THE HORSE 147 

oats (one and one-fourth gallons) and fifteen pounds of 
alfalfa hay per day. 

Salt should be given to the work horses once or twice a 
week. 

Watering the horse. The water horses drink does not 
lodge in the stomach but passes on to the large colon of the 
intestine, except when the stomach is full. When horses are 
very thirsty they immerse their whole nose in the water to 
prevent drawing in the air. Horses, like all farm animals, 
prefer and ought to have pure water. A good practice is 
to water immediately before and after each feeding, and, if 
the animals are to be left in the stall over night, to water 
again after their hay has been cleaned up. 

Stables for horses. Stables should be wide and large 
enough to hold at least two cubic feet of air space for every 
pound of the horse's weight. The stables should be well 
lighted; the horse's head should not face the light. Air 
should not come in as draughts, but the stable should be 
well ventilated. The floor of the stalls should be higher in 
front than behind to allow good drainage. 

Points in Good Horsemanship 

Training colts. To be able to break and train a colt is an 
accomplishment which every farm boy should desire to acquire. 
Handling and caring for animals has a good influence upon 
the education and character of boys and girls. "The end to 
be accomplished in training a colt," says Dean Davenport 
in his * Animal Studies,' *'is to teach courage, obedience, 



148 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

and good workmanship to this wild colt that was never off 
the farm, never saw the cars perhaps, and that never knew 
the feeling of halter or harness or experienced reprimand or 
control of any kind." 

One can do little toward educating a colt until it can be 
haltered and taught to lead well. The halter should be 
strong and plenty of time should be given to teach the colt 
its first lesson in restraint. Teach it to lead gradually by 
requiring it to follow you for food. After a colt has been 
taught to lead, gradually accustom it to things that might 
frighten horses, as umbrellas, automobiles, blankets, paper, 
noises, etc. Be kind and speak in a reassuring voice during 
these trials of the young horse. The hardest lesson of all 
is to get the young horse to drive in harness. Do not hitch 
him at first, but teach him to back or turn to the right or 
left, etc., as you hold the lines. Give the colt the word that 
goes with every action he makes. Do not extend the lessons 
in breaking over one hour at a time. After the colt has 
submitted to be driven, hitch him to a cart. A draft colt 
can best be ''broken" by hitching him with a quiet, gentle 
mare. 

Then a new line of good horsemanship is needed, a few 
points of which we can merely mention here. Hold a tight 
rein and keep cool. Let the colt understand that ''whoa" 
means to stop; "back" means to back; "steady" means to 
go slowly; and "get up" means to go on. Do not use unnec- 
essary and contradictory words such as "whoa back" and 
"whoa haw," and never use profanit3^ Do not overwork or 
overdrive the horse. He is flesh and blood and not a machine. 



THE HORSE 149 

It is best not to use the high over-check rein. The over-draw 
check is used for single harness, and the side-check or bear- 
ing rein for double harness work horses. 

Keeping" the horse comfortable. One point in good horse- 
manship is to see that the horse is properly shod. Every 
owner should understand how a horse should be shod, so 
that he can insist on the blacksmith shoeing him properly. 
Harness should be well fitted to the size of the horse. If the 
collar is too large or too small, sore necks will result, as well 
as other troubles. The harness should be kept well cleaned 
and oiled, not only to prevent rapid wearing out, but to give 
greater comfort to the horse. Never put a frosty bit into 
the horse's mouth. Warm it by breathing on it or holding 
it in the hand. The horse should never be left facing the 
cold wind, and should always be blanketed when left to stand 
in the cold. Examine the horse's teeth frequently. A horse 
can not eat properly when his teeth are poor. Use a curry 
comb and brush freely upon the horse, especially the brush. 

Laws of the road. A good driver observes and knows all 
the courtesies of the road. He turns to the right and gives 
half of the road to those he meets, and all the road, if pos- 
sible, to a loaded wagon. He permits anyone to pass who 
wishes to drive faster than he, and, if he passes another, he 
drives far enough ahead to avoid annoying him by the dust. 
Recent laws have been made in different states regarding 
the automobile and its rules in regard to horse traffic along 
the road, but a gentleman chauffeur and a good horseman 
need have no trouble about the laws of the road. 



150 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

The Horse's Plea 

Please give us water often. 

Please give ns a moment's rest on the way up the hill. 

Please do not overload us and make us pull too long in 
deep mud ; we are doing our best. 

Please do not use the whip ; it is seldom necessary. 

Please remember we will respond to a word as well as to a 
blow. 

Please look out for our health and do not work us when we 
are sick. 

Please see that we are properly shod. 

Please be sure that we have enough to eat and that we are 
fed regularly. 

Please see that the harness fits and does not chafe sore or 
tender spots. 

Common Diseases of the Horse and What to Do for Them 

Symptoms of illness. There are many symptoms by which 
a farmer may detect when there is something wrong with his 
horses. The temperature, the pulse rate, and the rate of 
breathing may be of assistance to the farmer in examining 
the horse to determine whether anj^thing is wrong with his 
health. Most farmers after a little experience can tell whether 
or not fever is present by placing the hand behind the fore- 
leg, between the hind legs, or in the horse's mouth. 

In particular cases of sickness considerable importance is 
attached to the attitude and action of the horse. In most 



THE HORSE 151 

cases it is advisable to call in a veterinarian when the horse 
is ill, but the farmer should know the symptoms of some of 
the common diseases and should know what to do until the 
doctor comes. 

Colic. The horse is subject to various forms of colic, 
some of which are quite dangerous and require immediate 
treatment. Wind colic and cramp colic are most common. 
In wind colic the horse appears dull, falls to the ground, and 
breathes hard. Pain is continuous. Charcoal given to the 
horse often relieves pain. In cramp colic pain begins sud- 
denly and is often severe. It may be the result of indiges- 
tion. The horse looks back at his side, paws the ground, lies 
down, rolls, and gets up frequently. Whiskey and Jamaica 
ginger or camphor may give relief. In all cases of colic the 
first thing to do is to give the horse a good physic. One or 
two quarts of raw linseed oil with one or two ounces of tur- 
pentine is practical and best for this purpose. All farmers 
should have on hand about two or three ounces of fluid extract 
of wild yam, sometimes called colic root. Give the horse one 
teaspoonful every half hour until relieved. 

Founder. This disease is known to veterinarians as lamin- 
itis. It is an inflammation of the horn secreting structure, 
usually showing digestive disorder or overwork. The dis- 
ease is painful. The front feet are the most common seat of 
the disease, although any one or all of them may be affected. 
In case the front feet are affected, they are placed in advance 
of the body and the hind feet thrust away under it, appear- 
ing as if the whole body were sore, though only the feet are 
affected. When all four feet are inflamed, the horse can 



152 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

hardly walk. Varying with the degree of the disease, the 
connection between the secretive and horny portion of the 
toe is more or less obliterated. The form of the hoof changes 
and the heel appears higher and more contracted. Rings 
form on the walls of the hoof, coming close together at the 
toe; the hoof is hot and feverish. The sensitive part of the 
toe, being exposed by the degeneration of the horny struc- 
ture, is likely to develop horn tumors which are very painful 
and may result in chronic disorder. Early treatment by a 
veterinary surgeon may cut short the attack and prevent 
changes in the form and condition of the hoof. A physic 
of Epsom salts, one or two pounds, should be given. The 
horse should be led to a stream of running water and left to 
stand in it at least two hours ; and then one hour out. Alter- 
nate this process several times for a whole day. If this can 
not be done, use sawed-off barrels or tubs and stand the horse 
in cold water as described above. 

Lameness. On account of the unusual exposure to strains, 
the horse is subject to more forms of lameness than any of 
our domestic animals. Lameness may be due to strains of 
the muscles, ligaments, or the joint capsules in any part of 
the leg, shoulders, or pelvic girdles. Usually it is a very dif- 
ficult matter to indicate the exact cause of lameness in a 
horse, and we can not describe the veterinarian's system of 
ascertaining this. Some of the forms of lameness may be 
mentioned very briefly: 

a. Splints are the bony enlargements which lie between 
the knees and fetlock joints on the inside of the legs. These 
may become a cause of lameness. 



THE HORSE 153 

b. Ringbone is a term applied to a bony growth around 
the bone just above the coronet of the hoof. This trouble 
is more serious than splints, but it is possible both to pre- 
vent and to cure it by methods which can not be discussed 
here. 

c. Bone spavin is a bony outgrowth of the hock joint. 
It interferes in a serious measure with the usefulness of the 
horse. After spavin has become established there is not 
much hope of cure. A month or two of rest in the pasture 
is the best medicine for a spavined horse. 

d. In addition to these bone diseases, lameness may be 
caused by various troubles about the joints, such as blood 
spavin, straining of the joints, or by various foot troubles. 

Wounds. Too little attention is given to the treatment of 
wounds in farm animals. Lockjaw and blood-poison are likely 
to result from the neglect of wounds. Shallow wounds may 
become exceedingly sore and cause much discomfort to the 
animals. When cut surfaces are kept perfectly clean, the 
wound heals much m.ore rapidly, but this is not always pos- 
sible with farm animals. Never sew stitches in the horse's 
flesh. The wound should always be treated and bandaged if 
possible. Applying a solution of carbolic acid and covering 
the surface with iodoform, if the wound can not be bandaged, 
is a treatment which will prevent the entrance of germs and 
flies. The application of camphor to wounds also prevents 
the entrance of flies. It should be said in this connection that 
if farmers were more careful about the use of barbed-wire 
fences about horse pastures there would be less trouble from 
wounds among farm horses. 



154 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Moon blindness. This is the name often given to an in- 
flammation of the interior of the eye. The trouble first appears 
as a flow of tears with inflammation. This occurs with the 
regularity of lunar phases ; hence the term moon blindness, 
though the moon has nothing to do with it. From five to 
seven attacks usually result in the lens of the eye becoming 
opaque and the curtain of the iris growing fast to the lens, 
causing blindness. "When the symptoms first appear, a small 
blister should be made an inch or two under the eye, and the 
eyes Avashed in cold water or a solution of boric acid, one 
teaspoonful in one pound of water. The disease is caused 
by damp, cold stables, wet, undrained soils, rank, damp fod- 
der, lack of sunshine, indigestible food, and from hereditary 
tendencies; not from *^wolf teeth," as some people believe. 
Of course, the removal of these causes is the first step in 
controlling this disease. 

THE AGE OF THE HORSE IN VERSE 

"Two middle nippers you behold 
Before the colt is two weeks old; 
Before eight weeks two more will come; 
Eight months, the "corners" cut the gum. 

At two, the middle nippers drop; 
At three, the second pair can't stop; 
When four years old the third pair goes; 
At five, a full new set he shows. 

The deep black spots will pass from view, 
At six years, from the middle two; 
The second pair at seven years; 
At eight, the spots each "corner" clears. 



THE HORSE 155 



From middle nippers, upper jaw, 
At nine the black spots will withdraw; 
The second pair at ten are white; 
Eleven finds the "corners" light. 

As time goes on the horsemen know 
The oval teeth three-sided grow; 
They longer get, project before. 
Till twenty, when we know no more." 



Notebook Questions 

1. Have you read the story of ''Black Beauty"? 

2. Who said, ''My kingdom for a horse"? 

3. Have you read Longfellow's poem called the "Belle 
ofAtri"? 

4. List some of the uses of horse to man. 

5. Name the different types and breeds of horses. 

6. How does a horse move its head when biting off grass ? 
Does a cow do the same? 

7. Can you tell the age of a horse by his teeth ? How ? 

8. How does a horse lie down ? Get up ? How does this 
differ from the cow? 

9. What blemishes on a horse would spoil its sale if you 
were the proposed buyer? 

10. How many men would equal the power of one horse ? 

11. Describe the action of a horse's legs in trotting, pac- 
ing, and galloping. 

12. Bring some interesting article about horses and read 
it before the class. Briefly review this article in your note- 
book. 

13. Sketch the diagram of the horse's body and write in 
the names of the parts as numbered on the diagram. 

14. What humane work among horses do you think is most 
needed in your community ? 



156 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



15. What improvement in horses is most needed in your 
community ? 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

1. Report of home tj^es and breeds of horses. Fill out 
the following table as a report of the horses owned on the 
home farm : ' 



Type, Breed 
and Color 



Weight 



Age 



No. of 
Horses 



General 
Condition 



2. Study of external parts of the horse. Before a chart 
of a horse, or, better still, before a live horse, drill the mem- 
bers of the class in locating and naming all the most impor- 
tant external parts used in judging the horse according to 
the score-card. Every student should be familiar with the 
names and locations of the parts, and with the common blem- 
ishes found on the horse's body. 

3. Comparative judging. Drill the students in placing a 
ring of horses, ranking them first, second, third, etc., accord- 
ing to conformation, quality, and condition. Let each student 
be able to give the reason for his ranking of the horses in 
the judging ring. 

4. The use of the score-card. Let each student use the 



THE HORSE 157 

score-card designated by the State Experiment Station and 
mark the points of the horse according to his best judgment. 

5. Harnessing a horse. Have a horse and buggy brought 
to the schoolyard and let every two members of the class, 
working together, harness and unharness the horse and hitch 
it again into the shafts ready for driving. This may be made 
more interesting by assuming the nature of a contest, if 
desired. Practice in harnessing and hitching a team to a 
wagon is a good exercise. (A home project in cleaning and 
oiling a set of harness is advised.) 

6. Reports from experiences. Let each pupil choose one 
of the following topics and report some of his own observa- 
tions or experiences for a Avritten or an oral recitation : 

(a) Breaking a Colt. 

(b) Choosing a Horse. 

(c) The Horse Barn at Home. 

(d) Some Laws of the Road. 

(e) How We Care for Our Horses. 

(f ) A. History and Record of Some Noted Horse. 

(g) An Observation or Experience in Connection with a 
Severe Case of Sickness in Horses the Student Has Had. 

7. Determination of feed rations. 

A. A table of foods (amounts in 100 pounds). 









Carbohydrates 


Foods 


Dry matter 


Protein 


and fats 




lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


Clover 


85. 


6.6 


39.1 


Wheat bran 


89. 


12. 


. 45.9 


Corn 


89. 


8. 


74.5 


Timothy hay 


86.8 


2.8 


46.5 



B. Problem. "What is the nutritive ratio of the following 
ration: 15 pounds clover hay, 6 pounds wheat bran, 4 pounds 
corn ? Is this a good ration for a working horse ? 



158 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Note : A nutritive ratio is the proportion of protein to car- 
bohydrate and fat, and should be about 1 :6 for a working 
horse. 

C. Feeding standards for horses, per day, per 1,000 
pounds live weight. 









Carbohydrate 




Dry matter 


Protein 


and fat 




lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


Horse at light work .... 


20 


1.5 


10.5 


Horse at medium work. 


24 


2.0 


12.4 


Horse at heavy work . . . 


26 


2.5 


15.2 



D. Determine the nutritive ratio and value as compared 
with the ration given in the paragraph above on feeding. 

8. Plan of a barn. Draw a floor plan for a horse barn 
on a farm, providing places for harness, grain, box stalls, and 
vehicles. 

9. Some live-stock statistics. Consult the last Yearbook 
of the Department of Agriculture, and list the number and 
value of horses in the United States. 

10. Some feeding determinations. Determine the weight 
of one quart of corn, oats, and bran. Determine the size of 
a forkful of hay that will average five pounds. 



CHAPTER XI 

DAIRY CATTLE AND THEIR PRODUCTS 

"The summer days grew cool and late; 

He went for the cows when the work was done, 
But down the lane as he opened the gate 
He saw them coming, one by one." 

The most important things to learn in* connection with the 
farm dairy cattle are how to increase the production of milk, 
both in quantity and quality ; how to fix these desirable char- 
acteristics in the cows, and how to feed such rations as will 
give the cow the best advantage of her breeding. 

Home of dairy breeds. In the English Channel just off the 
coast of France are four little islands that belong to Eng- 
land. They are Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Stark, in 
order of size. Jersey is just twenty miles across, and Stark 
is practically uninhabited. The isles of Jersey and Guernsey 
have each given us a breed of dairy cattle named after their 
native island and bred pure for many generations. It has 
long been against the law of the islands to land any live 
animals there except for immediate slaughter. From Scot- 
land came the Ayrshire breed. In the eastern part of our 
country the Ayrshires have long been known and admired. 
From Holland came the Holstein-Friesian, the breed noted 
for the quantity or large flow of milk. In size they are the 
largest dairy breed. In America this breed is very popular 
for milk production to supply cities. 

159 



DAIRY CATTLE AND THEIR PRODUCTS 



161 



DAIRY BREEDS 



Name 


Origin 


Color 


Approxi- 
mate 
weight 


Milk, 

quantity and 

quality 


Distinguishing 
characteristics 


Jersey 


Jersey Isle 


Fawn, shad- 
ing to dark. 


750 to 900 
lbs. 


Low average 
yield, high in 
butter fat. 


High percentage 
butter fat. Yel- 
low product, per- 
sistent milker. 


Guernsey 


Guernsey 
Isle 


Reddish yel- 
low with 
white mark- 
ings. 


1000 lbs. 


Average yield 
not high. 
Rich in but- 
ter fat. 


Production of 
highly colored 
cream and butter. 


Holstein- 
Friesian 


Holland 


Black and 
white, not 
blended. 


1200 lbs. 


Abundant. 
Lowest in 
butter fat av- 
erage. 


High milk yield. 
Vigorous consti- 
tution. Good 
breeding quality. 
Quiet disposition. 


Ayrshire 


Scotland 


Spotted red 
and white, 
not blended. 


900 to 1100 
lbs. 


Large average 
yield, medium 
butter fat. 


Less angular 
dairy-type. Horns 
turn upward, ud- 
der development 
excellent. 


Brown 
Swiss 


Switzer- 
land 


Brown in 

varying 

shades. 


1200 lbs. 


Large average 
yield, good 
butter fat av- 
erage. 


Vitality and good 
breeding. Quiet 
and gentle. 
Large calves. 


Shorthorn 
(Dual- 
purpose 
breed) 


England 


Red, white, 
red and white 
or roan. 


1400 to 
1600 lbs. 


Good average 
milk yield and 
butter fat 
content. 


Larger than any 
dairy breed. 
More numerous 
and widely dis- 
tributed. Good 
breed calves. 



162 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



General characteristics of dairy cattle. The form or shape 
of farm animals shows their special adaptation for the use 
to which they are put. Good specimens of animals that are 
what we call well-bred always belong to a distinct type. 
Among farm cattle we distinguish three types : the beef -type, 
the dual-purpose-type, and the dairy-type. 




FIG. 23. TILLY ALCARTRA 



Our first impression upon comparing the dairy-type with 
the others is that the dairy cow shows her ribs and muscles 
plainly. Her body is deep and angular. Seen from in front, 
she seems narrow; her breast is thin and her neck long and 
slender. Seen from behind, she is wide and has a large udder 
between thin, muscular legs. Looldng down over her back, 
you will notice that she is broad in the middle and narrow 



DAIRY CATTLE AND THEIR PRODUCTS 163 

in front. Such a wedge form is characteristic of the dairy- 
type. 

The udder. The milk gland or udder is the most im- 
portant part of the dairy cow. When it is of good shape 
it extends well forward and behind, with four teats uni- 
formly placed, wide apart, and large enough for conven- 
ience in milking. On the under side of the body in front 
of the udder are large milk veins, one on each side, twist- 
ing along and finally disappearing in holes called the milk 
wells. These veins carry large quantities of blood from 
the udder. The cow's udder is a wonderful mechanism, and 
is of great capacity. Good cows give from six to ten times 
their weight in milk in a year. A world's record cow, Tilly 
Alcartra, a Holstein, gave 30,452.6 pounds of milk in a year. 

Points in judging* quality. Stockmen often speak of high- 
class animals as having good quality. This is shown in a 
fine silky coat of hair, in a soft, elastic skin, in fine bones, 
and in neat joints. When an animal has quality you can 
easily take the skin in the hand between the thumb and 
fingers and pull it out from the side of the body. It is 
pliable and will roll up in the hand easily. If the cow 
lacks quality or is not in good condition, her skin will be 
thick and tight and is not easily taken in the hand. The 
dairy cow of quality is likely to be a better producer of 
milk than one in which quality is lacking. 

In all judging work in public-school agriculture the 
points to note and emphasize are the form, quality, and 
condition of the animal. When a farmer wants to "buy 
a dairy cow, the ciuestion naturally confronts him, ''How 



164 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

shall I be able to judge a good dairy cow?" In doing 
this he must know the proper form of the head, neck, fore 
quarters, body, and hind quarters of the dairy-type. He 
must know what good quality consists in, and be able to 
know at sight whether the animal is in good condition or is 
capable of being put into good condition, depending upon 
health and breeding. All points in judging may be consid- 
ered under the following heads : constitution, temperament, 
capacity, milking organs, and mammary development. 

Hind quarters. In judging the form of a dairy cow, the 
hind quarters are most important. The hips should be far 
apart and level. The rump should be long and wide, with 
plenty of hip room. The pin bones should be prominent and 
wide apart. The tail should be long and slim, with hair in 
the switch fine. The udder should be high and full behind, 
long, and extending full and far in front. The teats should 
be large and evenly placed. The milk veins should be large, 
long, and very crooked. When large they indicate much 
blood coming from the udder, showing large secretion capac- 
ity. 

The body. The chest should be deep and low, and the 
barrel large, showing digestive capacity, with ribs well 
sprung and wide apart. The back should be lean, straight, 
open-jointed, and flexible. 

Fore quarters. The fore quarters are not so important. 
The whithers should be lean and thin, the shoulders light and 
very oblique, and the legs straight, short, and fine. 

Head and neck. The muzzle should be clean cut; the 
mouth, the nostrils, and the eyes should be large. The eyes 



DAIRY CATTLE AND THEIR PRODUCTS 165 

should have a mild expression. The face should be clean, 
long, dished, and expressive of maternal qualities and good 
disposition. The forehead should be broad. Horns should 
be even in length and of fine texture. The neck should be 
thin, of medium length; the throat clean; the dulap thin 
and of very fine texture. A cow with a thick, coarse head 
and neck does not designate good dairy quality. 

The first practice in judging dairy cows should be com- 
parative judging, ranking the cattle in the ring in the order 
of their standing based upon the points mentioned above. 
All points in judging should be related to improved produc- 
tion and breeding. 

Products of the dairy. Milk, butter, and cheese are the 

products of the dairy. Every day we use some form of these 

products in our homes. The Yearbook of 1910 of the U. S. 

Department of Agriculture gives the following statistics on 

dairy products: 

Pounds 

International trade in butter exports 640,000,000 

International trade in cheese exports 509,000,000 

United States export in butter 3,000,000 

United States export in cheese 3,000,000 

United States export in milk 13,000,000 

By comparing the value of the dairy products of the country 
with those of other agricultural lines, we note that the dairy 
product ranks fourth, with corn, live stock, and hay ranking 
in order as named. 

Milk. Milk is composed of six constituents which are 
of prime importance. The following table gives the con- 
stituents of the milk with the percentage of each: 



166 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Per cent 

Water 87. 

Fat 4. 

Casein 2.6 

Albumin 7 

Sugar 5. 

Ash 7 

More important for our lesson than the composition is the 
question of the care and handling of milk. The most impor- 
tant item in the handling of milk is cleanliness. Probably 
no other kind of food is more difficult to keep clean than 
milk. Thousands of bacteria from the air get into the milk, 
some of which cause the milk to sour, while others may be 
the germs of consumption, typhoid fever, and other dan- 
gerous human diseases. The following precautions in the 
care of milk should be taken by all who furnish us with this 
valuable food: 

First, the milker should have clean clothes and clean hands, 
and should never wet his hands with the milk. Second, the 
cow should be clean, the udder and teats should be wiped with 
a moist cloth, and the stables well lighted, aired, and cleaned. 
Third, every vessel used in the handling of the milk should 
be scalded and scrupulously cleaned. Fourth, the cows should 
not be milked where the air is full of dust of any kind. 
Fifth, the surface of the milk should not be left exposed to 
the air of the cellar, kitchen, or any place where dust 
or bacteria may fall into it. Sixth, the milk should be cooled 
quickly and kept cold. 

Butter. Butter is composed largely of fat, so we speak 
of the fat of milk as butter fat. Fat, although most valuable 



DAIRY CATTLE AND THEIR PRODUCTS 167 

on the market, is not the most important food constituent of 
milk. Butter fat is composed mainly of nine different fats. 
On account of the importance of the fat, it is often made the 
basis of payment for milk. By means of the Babcock tester 
the amount of butter fat in milk can be accurately deter- 
mined. This amount ranges from 2 per cent to 6 per cent. 
Cream contains most of the butter fat in milk, and it thus 
becomes an important item to separate the cream from the 
milk in order to get the greatest amount of butter fat. Experi- 
ments have shown that from the three methods of cream 
separation the following results were obtained : 

Butter Lost in Skim-Milk from 1 Cow in 1 Year 

Hand separator Loss of butter 2.6 lbs. 

Shallow pan Loss of butter 60. lbs. 

Water dilution Loss of butter 70. lbs. 

It is easily seen that a good hand cream separator is a 
profitable piece of apparatus to have on the farm keeping 
three or more cows. 

Cheese. We learned that casein is one of the constituents 
of milk. It contains protein, one of the most important food 
elements of milk. This casein is separated as curd by the 
souring of milk, but the separation may also be made by 
adding cheese-making rennet. The curd formed by the ren- 
net is then heated, the whey drained off, and later run 
through a mill and cut into small pieces, salted, pressed 
to form, and finally cured in a cool room before it is rt^ady 
for the market. 

Cheese is one of the most nutritious of foods and should be 
more largely used in our diet. 



168 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Problems Showing Comparative Value of Cows 

1. A farmer owns six cows, Bess, Spot, Brindle, Boss, 
Kate, and Red. 

Bess gives 22 lbs. milk daily, testing 3.8 per cent butter fat 

Spot gives 15 lbs. milk daily, testing 4.2 per cent butter fat 

Brindle gives 30 lbs. milk daily, testing 3.5 per cent butter fat 

Boss gives 30 lbs. milk daily, testing 3.0 per cent butter fat 

Kate gives 14 lbs. milk daily, testing 3.2 per cent butter fat 

Red gives 24 lbs. milk daily, testing 5.2 per cent butter fat 

Figure out the yield of each cow, and classify the cows in 
order of production. 

2. Three herds of ten cows each were compared. The 
IIolstein-Friesians averaged 30 pounds of milk each daily; 
the Jerseys averaged 25 pounds each daily; the scrub herd, 
10 pounds each daily. The Holsteins' milk tests 3.4 per 
cent butter fat, the Jerseys' 5.1 per cent, and the scrubs' 3.5 
per cent. Which is the most profitable herd? With butter 
fat at 30 cents per pound, what is the average monthly 
receipt per cow of each herd? 

Remarkable difference in dairy cows. *Rose was an Illi- 
nois Experiment Station cow with a record that made her 
famous. Her total production for twelve years was 87,102.3 
pounds of milk — 431/2 tons; 10,248 gallons; 1,281 cans of 
eight gallons each; 106 wagonloads of twelve cans each. Al- 
lowing three rods for a team, this would make a procession 
one mile long, six carloads, making a good milk train. 

Butter for tM^elve years, 4,318.36 pounds, worth at present 
prices 25 cents per pound, $1,079.59. 

*From Circular No. 106, Illinois Experiment Station. 



DAIRY CATTLE AND THEIR PRODUCTS 169 

Skim-milk for twelve years, 72,585 pounds, worth 15 cents 
per 100 pounds, $108.88. 

Total receipts for twelve years (not reckoning calves or 
manure), $1,188.47, or $99.04 per year. 

Just think what the receipts of a dairyman would be whose 
herd consisted of twenty-five cows of this kind — $2,500 per 
year, not counting calves and manure. 

Rose was bought for $50 when 4 years of age. She had 
only ordinary treatment, no better than she would have re- 
ceived on a good dairy farm. She had not been pampered 
or fed to produce the utmost amount of milk. 

Remarkable as was the performance of this grade cow, 
she was heralded not as standing apart in unapproachable 
splendor, but as a great leader of the thousands of money- 
making cows in Illinois. 

In the same herd Queen became conspicuous for a very 
different reason. She had six years' record of 152 pounds 
butter fat per year, and, in exact comparison for one year. 
Rose made more than three times as much butter fat as 
Queen from exactly the same feed both in kinds and amount, 
and with the same care. 

Quite unsuspected these Queens have everywhere honey- 
combed dairy profits. All of them are ' ' star boarders. ' ' The 
more of them a dairj^man keeps, the poorer he is. The way 
to find out — the only sure way — is to weigh and test the milk 
of each cow. 

The world's record milk production for one year is held 
by the following individuals of their respective breeds : 



170 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Ayrshire Garclaugh's May Mischief 25329 lbs. of milk. 

Jersey Passport 19695 lbs. of milk. 

Guernsey Murnie Cowan 24008 lbs. of milk. 

Holstein Lutoke Vale Corcopia 31334.2 lbs. of milk. 

The world's record fat production for one year is held by 
the following individuals of their respective breeds : 

Ayrshire Lillie of Willomoore 965.6 lbs. of fat. 

Jersey Sophia the 19th of Hood Farm 999.2 lbs. of fat. 

Guernsey Murnie Cowan 1098 lbs. of fat. 

Holstein Duchess Skylark Ornsby 1205.09 lbs. of fat. 




FIG. 24. A B^INE TYPE OF GUERNSEY 



Fanner boys and calves. A boy on the farm has not had 
his full experience if he has not owned and cared for a calf. 
Many a farmer boy has had his interest in agriculture aroused 



DAIRY CATTLE AND THEIR PRODUCTS 171 

and made permanent by a share in the live stock of the farm, 
and this share may begin with the ownership of a calf. 

Calves of dairy cows. In order to have the best milkers 
among dairy cows, it is best to take the calves from them 
when they have nursed once after birth. These calves should 
then be fed the mother's milk by hand. Feed the calf about 
two quarts of its mother's milk three times a day for two 
weeks, then feed three quarts twice a day. Another way to 
estimate the amount is to feed about one pound of milk to 
ten pounds of live weight at first, increasing to three pounds 
of milk to ten pounds of live weight. After about a month 
keep whole oats in. a box before the calf all the time. In 
addition to the milk, feed shelled corn with clover hay; this 
will make a good ration and cause the calf to grow. 

Calves of the beef-type should be allowed to run with the 
mother, for such cows are not kept for their milk and the 
calves will do better on natural feeding. 

Sheltering and caring for calves. The most important 
item in caring for young calves is the feeding and sheltering. 
Calves are fed either to bring to maturity as milk cows, to 
fatten for veal, or to push for the market as fat steers. To 
make finished beeves for the market by August, calves weigh- 
ing from 400 to 500 pounds, they must be pushed along rap- 
idly. The following ration has been successful: Nine to 
12 pounds corn, 3-6 pounds good clover or alfalfa hay, 8-10 
pounds silage, daily. If one or two pounds of cottonseed 
meal are added to this ration, the calves may be brought to 
900 pounds or more in eight or nine months. The main 
thing in feeding, however, is to be governed largely by the 



172 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

appetite of the calves and by common sense. Calves that 
are to be fattened for veal should in most cases be fed on 
new milk. Sweet skimmed milk furnishes a good basis for 
calf feeding. To this may be added a porridge of corn-meal 
or flaxseed meal with some nne wheat hay or grass. Ken- 
tucky blue-grass is a splendid balanced ration for growing 
calves. 

Feeding and Caring for Cattle 

Feeding" compounds. The animal body contains widely 
different tissues : bones, flesh, brains, hair, etc., and the body 
tissues and the animal products contain many complex com- 
pounds. The food that the animal gets must contain all the 
elements that make up the animal body and its products. For 
the purpose of study, these foods may be included under the 
following heads: water, ash or mineral matter, protein, car- 
bohydrates, and fats. 

Purpose of feeding. We feed cattle to repair the broken- 
down tissues in their bodies, to make them grow, to keep 
their bodies warm, to produce energy for work, and to make 
special products such as meat and milk. The young growing 
animals require sufficient food to keep their bodies in repair, 
to keep them warm, and to make them grow steadily. 

Foods and their special uses. It need merely be men- 
tioned that water is indispensable to animal life, and that 
cattle should be given free access to an abundance of water. 
Ash or mineral matter is essential to the health of cattle. 
The most abundant mineral food is phosphate of lime. Min- 



DAIRY CATTLE AND THEIR PRODUCTS 173 

eral foods are found in water, in soil, and in the ordinary 
rations fed to live stock. Protein is the flesh-forming food. 
It is used for the production of flesh, tendons, and blood, 
and forms the casein and albumin of milk. Protein is ob- 
tained largely in such feeds as clover hay, alfalfa, oats, wheat, 
bran, and middlings, cottonseed and oil meal. Carbohydrates 
and fats furnish material for the production of body heat, 
muscular energy, body fat, and milk fat. Corn and timothy 
hay are rich in carbohydrates and fat. In addition to these 
foods, cattle need a certain amount of crude fiber. This 
includes such bulky foods as straw, fodder, and hay, which 
contain a large amount of indigestible material. This crude 
fiber acts as a stimulant to the digestive organs, giving them 
work to do in disposing of it. 

Balanced rations and nutritive ratio. A balanced ration 
is one that has the proper amounts of protein, carbohydrate, 
and fat to secure the animal product desired, and to keep 
the animal in a healthful condition. The nutritive ratio is 
the proportion of protein to carbohydrates and fat. To find 
the nutritive ratio of any ration, divide the total amount 
of carbohydrates and fat in the ration by the total amount 
of protein, thus, ^-^tJiii^ The balanced ration usually given 
for a dairy cow is one in which there is about six times as 
much carbohydrates and fat as protein. The nutritive ratio 
in this case would be 1 :6. To feed cattle wisely, one should 
know the total amount of food needed daily, the composi- 
tion of the food, and the nutritive ratio required for the 
special purpose for which the feeding is done. 

Cattle feeds. The number of materials available for cat- 



174 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

tie feeding has increased in marked degree during the past 
few years. The foodstuffs of vegetable origin may be included 
under four classes : forage crops, roots and tubers, seeds and 
grains, and by-products of various kinds. Silage is a com- 
paratively recent food in this country. It is the name given 
to a green fodder preserved in the silo.* 

Indian corn is cut at about the time when three-fourths of 
the kernels are dented, then ground — stalk, leaf, ear, and 
all — and stowed away in the silo. This makes a most valu- 
able and economical food for dairy cattle, especially if fed 
with alfalfa. 

A good balanced ration for a milch cow is 8 pounds of 
hay, 30 pounds of silage, and 8 pounds of grain, daily. If 
the silage is not obtainable, then the following is a good 
substitute: 20 pounds of hay, 6 pounds of grain, 3 pounds 
of dried beets. Another ration might be 3 pounds corn-meal, 
2.5 pounds bran, 1 pound cottonseed meal, 15 pounds clover 
hay, 7.5 pounds corn stover. This ration contains 22.8 pounds 
dry matter, 2.08 pounds protein, and 12.5 pounds carbohy- 
drate and fat, and has a nutritive ratio of 1 :6. 

Good rations for meat production in cattle are as fol- 
lows : 8 pounds alfalfa hay, 12 pounds corn-meal, 5 pounds 
ground oats; or, 6 pounds clover hay, 12 pounds corn, 10 
pounds silage, 2 pounds cottonseed meal. The amounts given 
above are figured for 1,000 pounds live weight. Of course, 
it is not to be inferred from all this detail of figures that 
the farmer is to weigh out every day the rations for each 



*Silos are tall, round structures used for preserving green fodder 
for winter use. 



DAIRY CATTLE AND THEIR PRODUCTS 



175 



animal. After these rations are weighed out a few times, 
giving half in the morning and half in the evening, the feeder 
will soon learn to estimate the amounts necessary to make 
up the ration. 

Notebook Questions 

1. What are the most needed improvements in the dairy 
cattle on the average home farm? 

2. Where are the original homes of the dairy breeds? 

3. Name the typical dairy breeds. 

4. Explain the wedge form of the dairy cow. 

5. What adaptations in the structure of the dairy cow 
contribute to milk production? 

6. What is meant by quality in cattle? 

7. What is meant by condition? 

8. Describe the appearance and record of the three rec- 
ord dairy cows. 

9. What is the most important food constituent of milk? 
10. What is a good ration for baby beeves? 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 



1. Report of home dairy cattle. Let the pupils make 
a report upon the dsiiry cattle at their home, as follows: 



Breeds of cows 



No. of cows 



Selling value 



Average daily milk 
production 



176 



A ^'EAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Compare the reports of each pupil. Account for differences 
in selling value and milk yield. 

2. Table of stock foods with percentage of digestible 
nutrients. 



Food 


Dry matter 
per 100 lbs. 


Protein 


Carbohydrates 
and fat 


Silage 


20.9 
89.1 
84.7 
91.5 


.9 
7.9 

7.6 
38.1 


12.87 


Corn 


77. 


Clover hay 


16.37 


Cottonseed meal 


<:3. 



By using the above table, figure out the nutritive ratio for 
the rations given for dairy and beef cattle in the above para- 
graphs. 

Note — By referring to tables for all stock foods the nutri- 
tive ratio for other feeding rations is determined. 

3. Reports on home feeding. Let the pupils report upon 
the kinds of stock feeds used at home. Give the amounts of 
grain and roughage fed each cow, and determine whether it 
is a balanced ration. 

4. Observational study of external parts of the dairy- 
cow. With a cow or a large chart before the class, drill 
in the naming of the external parts of the cow until they 
are familiar to every member of the class. 

5. Use of the score-card for dairy cattle. Bring from 
one to three dairy cows to the schoolyard or let the class go 
to a dairy herd. Use the score-card recommended by the 
State Experiment Station in judging each cow, after sev- 
eral lessons in placing the animals in order of their rank 



DAIRY CATTLE AND THEIR PRODUCTS 



177 




FIG. 25. DIAGRAM SHOWING EXTERNAL PARTS OF A COW 

1. Muzzle. 2. Jaw. 3. Face. 4. Fore-head. 5. Throat. 6. Neck. 
7. Withers. 8. Shoulder. 9. Chest. 10. Back. 11. Ribs. 12. Loin. 
13. Rump. 14. Rump. 15. Hips. 16. Tail. 17. Thigh. 18. Udder. 
19. Belly. 20. Milk Veins. 

according to form, condition, and quality, as mentioned in 
a previous paragraph. Have each pupil make a copy of the 
score-card in his notebook, and Avheii the cow is before the 
class let each pupil mark the points as he thinks proper. 

6. Daily milk records. Pupils should make out a daily 
milk record sheet as follows, and keep a record of the cows 
at their homes for at least seven days. 



Name of cow 



Morning 
pounds 



Evening 
pounds 



Total 
pounds 



178 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Pupils should bring these records to school and compare 
reports. 

7. The Babcock test. If possible, the school should pro- 
cure a Babcock milk tester and test the milk of cows at the 
homes of the pupils. It is not necessary to give details for 
the use of the tester here, for directions accompany every 
machine. A good four-bottle Babcock tester may be obtained 
for ten or twelve dollars. 

8. Report on the calves owned by pupils. Let the pupils 
each write a paper about the calves at the home farm, using 
the following outline: 

(a) Number and breed of calves. 

(b) Size and age. 

(c) Ownership. 

(d) Method of feeding. 

(e) Shelter provided. 

(f) Successes and failures in raising. 

(g) Purpose for which kept. 



CHAPTER XII 
SWINE 

Swine on the Farm 

Importance of hog raising'. Since swine multiply rapidly 
and breed at an earlier age than other farm animals, they are 
considered one of the most profitable kinds of live stock 
which the farmer can produce. The prices of hogs vary so 
often and so much upon the great markets that the supply 
throughout the country is constantly shifting. The man 
who makes money out of hogs is the man who produces 
hogs each year and makes them a part of his permanent 
farm business. A few hogs might be kept profitably on 
many farms where they do not find a place today. The 
hog utilizes much of the by-products of the farm which 
might otherwise be wasted. In cattle feed lots, in dairy 
districts, in general farming operations, and, in fact, w^her- 
ever man produces agricultural products, the hog may be 
used to convert the w^aste products into an economical meat 
supply. Experience should enable a farmer to determine 
just how many hogs he can raise on his farm to advantage. 

Some pig history. The peccary of Central America is the 
American relative of the pig; at least it resembles the pig 
in habit and appearance. The wart-hog of Africa, the rhi- 
noceros, the hippopotamus, and the wild boar of Europe are 

179 



180 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



some wild relatives of the domestic hog. It seems that the 
hog and his relatives came originally from southeastern Asia, 
and that we are indebted to the Chinese for our swine. The 




FIG 26. A WELL BRED FAMILY 



European breeders improved their early Chinese hogs by 
crossing them with the large wild boars of western Europe. 
In this way the English Berkshire breed was formed. The 
English took the lead in developing the domestic hog as they 
did in improving cattle. The Indians had no hogs, but when 
the European settlers found that Indian com made excellent 
feed for hogs, they had them sent over from England. Thus 
the hog and corn developed rapidly together, in America, 
and the fat type of swine was produced. Among the first 
to breed and develop swine in America were the Dutch farm- 
ers of Chester County, Pennsylvania; they developed the 
Chester "Whites, the first breed of American hog. As the 
country became settled westward, the counties in southern 



SWINE 



181 



Ohio around Cincinnati became the great swine region of 
the United States. Here the Poland China hogs were devel- 
oped. Other domestic breeds of hogs were developed in 
Canada and throughout England. 

Types and Breeds of Swine 

Two types. There are two well-defined types of hogs, 
the fat or lard-type and the bacon-type. The lard-type is a 
product of the corn belt. In the great corn producing states 
we find the lard-type in its highest degree of perfection. 
Bacon hogs have not been produced to any great extent under 




FIG. 27. LARD-TYPE OF HOG 



systems of corn feeding, hence we find the bacon hog in 
greater numbers in countries where the food for the hog is 
more varied. Canada, Denmark, and Ireland are able to 
compete in their export trade with the bacon-types, because 
the ''Wiltshire Side" (.the side, ham, and shoulder in one 
piece) commands a higher price than the meat of the lard 
hog in export trade. 

The lard-type of hog. The lard-type of hog has a com- 



182 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



pact, thick, deep, smooth body. The ham, back, loin, and 
shoulders are the most valuable parts and are developed to 
a high degree. The production of lard and fat is the prin- 
cipal aim of this type. Quality is denoted by fine hair, 
smooth, clean, unwrinkled skin, rather fine bone, and an 
even distribution of flesh. The jowls should be broad, plump, 




FIG. 28. BACON-TYPE OF HOG 



and full, and the body not flabby in appearance. The hog 
should have short, upright pasterns. The snout should be 
fine, the face wide between the eyes, and the space between 
the ears wide and full. Width between the eyes and full- 
ness and width betAveen the ears indicate a good feeder. The 
neck should be short and deep and should blend smoothly 
into the shoulder. The shoulder should be well developed, 
blending well into the body and covered evenly with flesh 



SWINE 183 

over all parts. The back should be broad, slightly arched, 
of medium length, and thickly fleshed. The ribs should be 
well sprung, the sides deep and even between the shoulder 
and ham. The ham should be broad, deep, plump, and 
heavily fleshed well down toward the hocks. The rump 
should be as wide as the back. The legs should be short, 
straight, set well apart and squarely under the body. The 
above brief description is general for all breeds of the lard 
hog. The Poland China, Chester White, Berkshire, and Du- 
roc-Jersey are the popular breeds of this type of hog. 

The bacon-type. The weight of this type of hog for mar- 
ket demands varies from 160 to 200 pounds. The product 
sought in this type is the ''Wiltshire Side," the upper half 
of a side from shoulder to ham. The form of the bacon-type 
is quite different from the form of the lard-type. The hog 
has longer legs, the body is not so thick or deep, the shoulders, 
neck, and jowls are lighter. The hog should be long from 
shoulder to ham, with sufficient depth and thickness to denote 
good constitution. Quality, as in the lard- type, is indicated 
by a smooth coat of hair and 'an unwrinkled skin. The fin- 
ished bacon hog handles firmer to the touch than a finished 
lard hog. The bones of this type are larger, but they should 
present a clean-cut appearance. The loin is the most valu- 
able cut in this hog, and should be as wide as the rest of the 
back, full, strong, and well packed with flesh. The ribs should 
spring out boldly from the backbone and turn sharply down- 
ward, giving a straight, flat side. The leading breeds of the 
bacon-type of swine are the Tamworth and the Large York- 
shire. Sometimes the Hampshire is so classed. 



184 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Selecting the stock. The farmer who wishes to raise hogs 
should make the start with a few first-class animals. It is 
better to purchase one first-class brood sow than several 
mediocre ones for the same money. The same is true of the 
boar. He should be a pure-bred animal of the type selected. 
The following are some characteristics of a good breeding 
sow : the forehead should be broad and the eyes wide apart ; 
the neck rather thin; the shoulders smooth and deep; the 
back wide and straight; the chest deep and broad; the ribs 
well sprung; and a long body showing capacity from end to 
end. She should stand on straight legs and well up on the 
toes. She should be selected from a prolific strain and be a 
creditable representative of the breed. A good boar should 
have a masculine head and Avell-crested neck, and the same 
indications of a good pork-producing body as described for 
a good sow. 

Breeds of Swine 

Various tests in feeding swine have demonstrated that no 
one breed is superior to all others in ability to make cheap 
gains. A healthy, thrifty hog will make economical gains no 
matter what breed it represents. The various breeds have 
their peculiar excellencies, and it becomes a matter of per- 
sonal choice in determining what breed to raise. It is advis- 
able for best commercial interests, however, for a community 
to confine its swine production to the same one or two breeds. 

The Berkshire. The Berkshire is an attractive animal, 
rather above medium size and belongs to the lard-type. The 



SWINE 185 

face is dished, the snout short, the jowl full and heavy, the 
neck short, and the ears erect. The body of the Berkshire 
is long and smooth, with a thickly meated, neat, trim ham. 
In this breed the bone is strong and clean, but the animal 
does not always stand well on its feet. The standard color 
is black with white markings on the face, on each foot, and 
on the tip of the tail. It attains good weight at an early age, 
fattens readily and is known for its excellent quality of 
meat. The breed came originally from Berkshire in Eng- 
land. 

The Poland China. The present day Poland China is a 
large hog, some of the boars weighing over one thousand 
pounds. The face is slightly dished, the jowls are full and 
heavy, and the ears are fine and droop at about one-third 
of their length. The shoulders and hind quarters are heavy 
and the sides are straight and deep. As a rule the legs are 
short and the bone fine. The color is black, with white on 
face, feet, and tip of tail — ^' black, with six white points." 
The Poland China is especially a lard-type of hog. It is a 
fine yielder from the packer's standpoint. No breed excels 
the Poland China in ability to produce a finished fat carcass 
for the butcher at an early age. It has developed on corn 
feeding and is a great favorite in the corn belt. The breed 
originated in the Miami Valley of Ohio. 

The Duroc-Jersey. The Duroc-Jersey is a large hog of 
the lard-type. The snout is medium length, the face usually 
straight. Durocs have a characteristic arched back. Cherry 
red is the common color, but chestnut and yellowish red are 



186 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

often seen. The Duroc is a good grazer as well as a good 
corn feeder. This breed is very prolific and crosses well 
with several other breeds. The red pigs get their name 
** Jersey Reds" from New Jersey, where they gained consid- 
erable prominence, and ^' Duroc,'* a breed, strange to say, 
named after a stallion, from Duroc, in Saratoga County, 
New York. The breeders of Jersey Reds and Durocs united 
under the name *' Duroc- Jersey " and have developed this 
excellent breed in later years. 

The Chester White. The Chester White is a large white 
hog of the lard-type. The face is straight, the snout me- 
dium, the ears are heavy and droop at the tip. The con- 
formation of the Chester Whites is similar to that of the 
Poland China, but they have wider backs and lighter hams. 
The Ohio Improved Chester Whites (0. I. C.) is a strain 
resulting from an attempt to improve the Chester White 
through selection. 

The breed matures early and is an economical feeder. It 
is a good grazer and fairly hardy. Admirers of the Chester 
Whites claim the breed ranks among the first in being pro- 
lific. The breed originated in Chester County, Pennsylvania. 

The Hampshire. The Hampshire is a medium-sized hog 
coming between the lard-type and bacon-type of hog. The 
face is straight, the ears incline foi^vard but do not droop 
like those of the Poland China. The shoulders, ham, and 
jowls are lighter than those of fat hogs. There is less width 
of back and more length of side. The most fashionable color 
'^ listed" consists of black extremities with a white belt from 
four to twelve inches wide encircling the body and including 



SWINE 187 

the fore-legs, x^lthoiigh the Hampshire does not suit the 
demands of the ''Wiltshire Sides" for British export trade, 
the breed as a bacon-type is well suited to American demands 
for bacon. The Hampshire is a breed growing in popularity 
and has a reputation for good, fine-grained flesh with a high 
per cent of lean, dressing out with excellent net weight for 
packing. It is an active, hardy breed and is giving good 
satisfaction both as a feeder and breeder. The breed origi- 
nated in Hampshire, England. 

The Large Yorkshire. The Large Yorkshire is one of the 
largest breeds of swine. It is a typical bacon hog. The face 
is dished, the snout practically straight, the ears are large 
and erect, the shoulders and back of only medium width, 
the sides are long, and the ham carries very little fat. The 
bones are heavy, and the legs longer than those of the lard- 
tj^pe of hog. The color is white, with pinkish skin. There is 
a tendency to wide variation in many points in this breed. 
The Large Yorkshire is highly valued for bacon production. 
For quality of bacon it is rivalled only by the Tamworth. 
The breed is of English origin. 

The Tamworth. The Tamworth, like the Large York- 
shire, is a large-sized hog of the bacon-type. It has a long, 
straight snout, and the ears are large and fringed with fine 
hairs. In conformation the Tamworth is similar to the Large 
Yorkshire. The color is commonly a golden yellow, which 
grows darker with age. The bacon of the Tamworth is highly 
esteemed in export trade. This breed is of English origin 
and takes its name from Tamworth in Staffordshire. 



188 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Feed and Management of Swine 

Pig diet. The pig can make more meat from the food he 
eats than any other animal, with the possible exception of 
the hen. Five and one-half pounds of corn should make a 
pound of pork. Although we usually think of the pig as 
a grain eating animal, he will eat a greater variety of food 
than any other domestic animal. By choice his diet would 
include grain, grass, nuts, roots, snakes, worms, etc. Hogs 
should have access to pasture, for grass is a healthful diet 
for them. Clover, alfalfa, peas, and rape are excellent sum- 
mer foods for the development of hogs, while in winter roots 
or silage, together with the grain ration, should be regularly 
fed. Every pig should have free access to charcoal or coal 
screenings, ashes, slacked lime, and salt. 

During hot weather the hog craves a pool of water to 
reduce his temperature, for he perspires but little. In win- 
ter warm shelter for hogs reduces the amount of feed neces- 
sary. 

Supplementing corn in feeding hogs. Corn is essentially a 
fat forming feed, and is, therefore, not a good bone and 
muscle producer. Exclusive corn feeding works great harm 
in the case of young growing pigs, and numerous experiments 
have been conducted in combining other feeds with corn in 
order to overcome its objectionable features. "When prop- 
erly combined with a supplementary feed, relatively rich in 
protein and minerals, corn is the best hog feed obtainable. 
Pasture is an excellent supplement to corn, especially clover 
and alfalfa. Tankage and meat meals may be given in small 



SWINE 189 

proportions when used in dry lot feeding or in full feeding 
on pasture. When hogs are on pasture, tankage supple- 
ments the corn most economically. Soy beans also afford 
a valuable supplement to corn. 

General care and management. Many farmers seem to 
think that hogs require but little care and attention. The 
filthy pens where hogs are often compelled to wallow and feed, 
the damp, dark, ill-ventilated boxes in which they are often 






FIG. 29. A GOOD HOG HOUSE 

confined, and the dirty slop which constitutes such a large 
part of their diet, show the vile neglect and inhuman treat- 
ment often given to this valuable farm animal. Good, whole- 
some pork is not produced under such circumstances. It is 
better to fatten the hogs in a ten-acre field than in a ten-foot 
lot. The hog is a voracious feeder, but he responds readily 
to wholesome food by giving returns according to treatment 
and care. 

Hog houses. Good hog houses will have reasonable 
warmth, sunlight, cleanliness, dryness, ventilation, and con- 
venience. Hogs are sensitive to extremes of heat and cold 



190 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

and should have houses for shelter and shade. The house 
should be located on a dry site where the drainage is good. 
The beginner should not put up expensive buildings. The 
above mentioned important qualities of the hog house may 
be secured in many ways to suit the convenience and finan- 
cial condition of the grower. Much attention is being given 
to the construction of good hog houses, and details may be 
obtained from the state experiment stations, or from the 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 

Some points in the care of a brood sow. It is not advis- 
able to breed the sows before they are eight or ten months 
old, and in most cases it is best to wait three or four days 
after the pigs are weaned before breeding her again. The 
period of gestation in sows is 112-116 days. Most farmers 
will find that it is safer to have their sows farrow in March 
and September, producing two litters each year. A good 
pasture affords ideal conditions for the brood sow. Dur- 
ing the period of gestation the sow should be kept in good 
condition but not over-fat. An exclusive corn diet can not 
give best results, because it does not furnish enough bone 
and muscle forming constituents for unborn pigs. Equal 
parts of ground corn, ground oats, and wheat middlings is 
the ration recommended for the brood sow. There should 
be an abundant supply of fresh water at all times. The 
farrowing pen should be dry, well ventilated, and free from 
draughts. Equal parts of ground oats and wheat middlings, 
allowed to soak between feedings, is an excellent ration for 
nursing sows. If sweet skim-milk can be added, the ration 



SWINE 191 

is almost ideal. A limited amount of bulky, succulent feed 
helps to keep the sow healthy. 

Care of little pig"S. Little pigs should be allowed to get 
on the ground and in the sunshine as soon as the weather is 
moderate. After three weeks they should have other food 
in addition to the sow's milk. Skim-milk or oatmeal gruel 
is an excellent diet for little pigs. Some succulent feed, such 
as green clover and roots, will soon be relished by the grow- 
ing pigs and should always be included in the diet. A small 
amount of soaked whole corn scattered over the floor of the 
pen is good food for the pigs and will cause them to exercise 
while hunting for it. Skim-milk and middlings make about 
the best feed for young pigs after weaning. At no time 
should the growing pig be given an exclusive diet of corn. 
The most profitable time to feed pigs is during the first ten 
months of their life. After ten months of proper feeding, 
pigs should weigh from 250 to 300 pounds. Pigs fattened 
for the market should never see their first birthday anni- 
versary. 

Hog cholera. This dreaded disease among hogs is due to 
a filterable virus and causes a loss of many millions of dol- 
lars annually. Hogs show symptoms of the disease in going 
off to lie in cool places. Their hind parts seem stiff and they 
stagger as they walk; there is a watery secretion from the 
eyelids; alternate diarrhoea and constipation are common. 
Little can be done by way of treatment for this disease. Pre- 
ventive measures are the only effective means of combatting 
hog cholera. Quarantine, isolation, and disinfection are im- 



192 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

portant measures in fighting the disease. Three methods of 
vaccination are used in prcA^enting the cholera: 

(1) The injection of an anti-cholera serum, which makes 
the hogs immune only a few months or weeks. 

(2) Simultaneously with the serum is injected the defibri- 
nated blood or virus of a diseased hog, rendering the hog 
immune for life. 

(3) In the combination method, very seldom used, the hog 
is vaccinated with the serum alone and ten days later the 
simultaneous method is used. These plans of combatting the 
hog cholera must be carried out under the direction of a 
skilled veterinarian, and the state should supply the serum 
to the farmer at cost. 

Markets. The successful stock man is the one who is 
familiar with market requirements and tries to meet them. 
Every pig club member should know something of the mar- 
ket classes and grades of hogs. These differ somewhat 
according to local conditions, but in a general way the 
classification given beloAv may be taken as a standard. 

Heavy hogs are no longer at a premium except when the 
price of lard is high. They contain a large amount of fat. 

Butcher hogs are commonly used for fresh meat trade. 
They are principally barrows. 

The term packing refers to animals which are inferior as 
butcher hogs and are cut up, cured, and packed in boxes and 
barrels. Mixed packing hogs are those marketed without 
grading. 

The meat of young pigs is unsuitable for curing and sup- 
plies part of the demand for cheap, fresh meat. 



gWINE 



193 



The bacon hogs quoted on the Chicago market are lard 
hogs that are not highly finished, have a high per cent of 
lean meat, and supply the demand for lean pork. 
MARKET CLASSES AND GRADES 



Class 



Prime heavy. 



Butcher. 



Packing. 



Light. 



Pigs... 
Roughs , 



Boars . 
Misc. . 



Weight 



350-500 



180-350 



200-500 



125-220 



60-125 



Sub-Class 



Heavy . , 
Medium 

Light .. 

Heavy . . 

Medium 



Mixed 



Bacon 



f English 



[u. S. . . 



Light light. , 
Light mixed. 



.280-350 
.220-280 

.180-220 

.300-500 

,250-300 

,200-280 

,160-220 

155-195 

125-150 

150-220 



Grade 



I Roasting pigs 
Feeders 
Governments 
Pen holders 
Dead hogs 



Prime 

( Prime 

(Good 

fPrime 
-JGood 

^Common 

fPrime 
<^Good 

tCommon 

[Good 
< Common 

Linferior 

rCood 
-< Common 

[inferior 

rCood 
-<^ Common 

[inferior 

fChoice 
i Light 

[Fat 

fChoice 
^Good 

[common 

rGood 
-I Common 

[inferior 

rCood 
-l Common 

[inferior 

rChoice 
^Good 

[common 



194 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Stags are males castrated too late in life to grade as bar- 
rows. Boars are used for sausage and supply cheap, fresh 
meat. 

The present demand is for hogs weighing from 200 to 250 
pounds, and the hog raiser should aim to finish and market 
his hogs at about these w^eights. 

Notebook Questions 

1. Why is hog raising such a popular form of live-stock 
production on the farm? 

2. What were some of the most needed improvements 
brought about in swine over their wild relatives? 

3. What are the chief differences between the bacon- and 
lard-types of hogs? 

4. What are the characteristics of a good brood sow? Of 
a good boar? 

5. Name the standard breeds of sw^ine in this country. 

6. What is your favorite breed, and why? 

7. What are some of the feeds supplementary to corn in 
productive swine feeding? 

8. Give some reasons why swine should be sheltered. What 
are the essentials of a good piggerv^? 

9. Name five points you consider essential in the care of 
the brood sow. 

10. List some interesting hog habits. 

Practicai- Exercises and Home Projects 

1. Reports upon the wild relatives of the swine. Pupils 
should prepare written reports upon the following w41d rela- 
tives of the hog: peccary, wart hog, rhinoceros, hippopota- 
mus, wild boar, etc., consulting geographies, natural his- 
tories, and encyclopedias for information on these animals. 



SWINE 



195 



2. Report on swine at the home farm. Let the pupil 
report on the swine on the home farm by filling out the fol- 
lowing table: 



Types and 
breeds 



Number 
of each 



Characteristics of each 



Average 
weight 



Estimated 
value 



3. Quotation of market prices. Pupils should report the 
market prices of hogs and various pork products as quoted 
in the daily papers they receive at home or at school. 

4. Observation and study of breeds. If at all practical, 
the class in Agriculture should take a trip to the various 
farms in the community and observe the different breeds of 
swine. The pupils should be able to tell the difference be- 
tween the Berkshires, Poland China, Chester White, Duroc- 
Jersey, or any other breeds found in the community. The 
distinguishing characteristics of these breeds should be noted 
and thoroughly learned on a trip of this kind. 

5. Comparative judging". Prepare a ring of swine, two, 
three, or four animals, and have the pupils place these accord- 
ing to rank, basing their judgment on form, condition, and 
quality of the swine in the ring. In doing this exercise it 
may be necessary for the instructor to go over the whole mat- 
ter of conformation, condition, and quality, as they should 
be found in good swine. 



196 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

6. Exercises in judging. After the students have become 
somewhat familiar with the points in judging swine, infor- 
mation may be given as to the judging of individuals by the 
score-cards. Under the direction of the instructor use the 
score-card of your State Experiment Station. 

7. Reports on home meat production. Let each pupil 
report on the methods of feeding and managing swine at 
home, using the following outline: 

(a) The house, pen, or range in which the pigs are fed 
for fattening. 

(b) The feed used, amount, kind, etc. 

(c) Criticism of the above methods, and suggestions for 
improvement. 

8. Houses. Students should bring pictures of hog houses, 
clipped from farm papers or other publications in which they 
may be found, and in class make a critical study of the illus- 
trations assembled. Ground floor plans should be drawn by 
each student for several types of house. 



CHAPTER XIII 
POULTRY 

Arguments for poultry raising as a school study. There 
is no phase of agriculture that interests and directly concerns 
so large a proportion of people in any community as poultry. 
We find poultry on practically every farm in the country 
and, to a large extent, in the towns and cities. 

Poultry raising requires very little capital, very little area, 
and one does not have to wait long for profits. A large num- 




FIG. 30. A GOOD TYPE OF HEN 

ber of chickens may be raised in the same period of time 
it takes to grow a crop of corn. The products, both meat and 
eggs, are always in demand and in season the year round. 

197 



198 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

The principles of feeding, breeding, and general care are 
the same for poultry as for other kinds of live stock, and may 
be studied with practical demonstrations in any school. 

The hen as an efficient machine of production. Poultry 
raising is one of the most profitable branches of animal hus- 
bandry. All our domestic animals are kept on the farm for 
the purpose of converting the products of the soil into animal 
products, and tests that have been carefully made by differ- 
ent experiment stations show that there is no class of domes- 
tic animals that converts the grains, forages, and waste prod- 
ucts of the farm and the insect pests of our crops so eco- 
nomically into animal foods as does the hen. Three and a 
half pounds of grain, fed from the time the chick is hatched 
up to the time it weighs from four to six pounds, is required 
for one pound of chicken. It takes five or six pounds of food 
to m.ake a pound of pork, which is the next cheapest meat. 

The standard farm breeds and their special points of 
excellence. Our economic fowls may be divided into three 
general classes: 

(a) The type known as the egg class, or Mediterraneans, 
generally small, light birds, including Leghorns, Anconas, and 
Minorcas. These are of special interest to the poultry keeper 
because they produce a pure white egg. They have been 
developed for eg^ production. They are often spoken of as 
the egg fowls, but they are not really the greatest egg pro- 
ducers, as some fowls of other breeds produce just as many 
eggs. The point that makes them especially popular is that 
eastern markets, such as New York City, Philadelphia, and 
also the Pacific coast, will pay more for a pure white egg 



POULTRY 199 

than for a brown-shelled one. The only class of hens that 
will lay the pure white egg is the Mediterranean. 

(b) The meat type, known as the Asiatics. There are three 
breeds of particular importance: Brahmas, Cochins, and 
Langshans. The first two are not noted as great layers, though 
the Brahmas are fair layers. The Langshans are among the 




FIG. 31. THE DUAL-PURPOSE-TYPE 

very best layers, competing quite favorably with others in 
the egg contests. This type is called the meat breed, because 
the fowls are heavy and make the big roasters. They are 
very valuable in the eastern states, especially in Boston. 
"Green roasters" or "soft roasters" are very much in de- 
mand, bringing as much as 35 cents per pound live weight, 
and weighing from 6 to 9 or 10 pounds when dressed. 



200 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

(c) The general purpose or American class, the type popu- 
lar among the people generally. This type combines two 
characteristics to a high degree — egg production and meat. 
The breeds especially notable are Plymouth Rocks, Wyan- 
dottes, Rhode Island Reds, and Orpingtons. 

The Plymouth Rocks are fowls that weigh from 6 to 10 
pounds. They are a very hardy breed and lay good-sized 
eggs. 

The ability to produce a great many eggs is not a matter 
of breed, but of breeding or strain. The individual must be 
selected and bred with reference to its particular character- 
istic, whether it be appearance, plumage, meat weight, egg- 
laying power, or what not. This principle holds good with 
all classes of fowls, even with the meat class. The Langshans 
in Australia, for instance, often lead the list in the egg-lay- 
ing contests there. The Mediterranean type is capable of 
being developed into great layers. 

The Plymouth Rocks were the first American breed to be 
developed. They were given their name solely for patriotic 
reasons. 

The Wyandottes. The second American breed to be devel- 
oped was the Wyandotte, an Indian name. They are about 
one pound smaller than the Plymouths ; that is, they w^eigh 
from 51/2 to 8V2 pounds and are very compact and round. 
The Wyandotte is called the bird of curves. For broilers 
of from % to 2 pounds, they develop rapidly. The birds of 
the meat class are not best to eat, usually, until they weigh 
about 3 or 4 pounds. 

The Wyandottes have a rose comb or double comb, Avhich 



POULTRY 201 

is a low, fleshy tissue quite different from the single comb 
that stands up more prominently. This low comb is less 
exposed to the cold. Some people in the colder sections of 
the country think it is better to have a breed with the rose 
comb, but the preference is largely a matter of fancy. 

Rhode Island Reds were the latest breed to be developed 
in this country. They are believed to be the hardiest and 
most vigorous of any of our American breeds. They are 
the same size as the AVyandottes, and a pound smaller than 
the Plymouth Rocks, Raised under similar conditions, when 
mature, a Plymouth Rock that is true to her breed and type 
should weigh a pound more than a Wyandotte or a Rhode 
Island Red. The Rhode Island Reds are naturally great lay- 
ers. At several experiment stations it has been demonstrated 
that they are the great money makers, although some pens 
of Plymouth Rocks have contested them closely. The Rhode 
Island Reds lay a large and very perfectly shelled egg. Some 
say the Rhode Island Reds eggs can be picked out from a 
basket by touch, because of the marble smoothness of the 
shell. 

The Orpingtons are an English breed. They are classed 
with the Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Reds because, for 
the general purposes, they are midway between the light and 
the heavy in size. They are about half a pound larger than 
the Plymouth Rock, and are like the other English breed 
birds in having a white instead of a yellow skin. There is a 
feeling among a great many people that a yellow skin indi- 
cates a richness and juiciness of flesh. There are no table 
birds superior to the Orpingtons. The skin is very tender, 



202 A. YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

and they fatten well for a table bird. They are also excel- 
lent layers. 

There are three varieties of Orpin^ons; white, buff, and 
black. They are beautiful to look upon, having fluffy feath- 
ers somewhat looser than the American breeds. They have 
a single comb, but it is not large and thus not exposed to 
the cold. 

Improvements. Probably the most desirable improve- 
ment to be sought on the farm is strong, healthy birds with 
a maximum of egg production, especially during the winter 
months. There is no reason why as great an improvement 
in egg production should not and may not be secured by the 
poultry keeper as the dairy keeper has secured during the 
past few years in the production of milk. The dairyman 
found out that a large proportion of the herd did not pay 
for their feed. The same is true with poultry. Weak, un- 
healthy birds are always the centers of disease, because 
poultry is kept in larger numbers and the individuals are 
not so directly under the eye of the keeper. There is more 
danger of starting diseases in a flock than there is with other 
kinds of domestic animals. By weeding out the unhealthy 
birds one may be saved much loss and disappointment. 

The relative value of feeding and breeding in egg pro- 
duction. If we regard fowls, as we do our other domestic 
animals, as machines whose business it is to convert as profit- 
ably as possible the produce of the soil (the feeds) into high- 
class, desirable, animal products, then, first, it is to the inter- 
est of the poultry keeper to make sure that his machine is 



POULTRY 203 

as perfect as he can get it; that is, that his poultry is well 
bred. So much for the machine. 

Then everj^body knows that if he has ever so valuable an 
engine or machine of any sort, to make it the source of the 
greatest possible profit he must have materials to work up 
into the product. The more one can make the fowls eat, if 
the food is not fed wastefully, the greater should be the 
profit. If one can breed fowls to develop the characteristic 
of early laying and early maturity, which would mean 
in the fall and winter, they Avould be of the greatest profit. 
Two hens may lay equal numbers of eggs, but one may bring 
in three or four times as much profit as the other, because 
she lays at the time when eggs sell at the highest price. 

Some good feeding rations for laying hens. One of the 
best rations, and the simplest, is grain, wheat, and corn only, 
fed morning and night, spread in the litter, changing the 
proportion according to the season. In the fall and spring 
feed equal amounts of wheat and corn; in the summer, one 
part of corn to two parts of w^heat ; in the winter, two parts 
corn to one part wheat. Keep coarse ground oats in the 
feed hopper all the time. These are foods which are easily 
procured by the poultry keeper whether in town or on the 
farm. 

Mixed with these ground oats in dry mash (formerly they 
used wheat bran, wheat middlings, and ground corn) is about 
15 per cent of meat scrap. This is the by-product of the 
packing houses; it is cheap meat and some cartilage, etc., 
ground up, cooked, and dried, so that all the germs are 



204 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

killed. It can be stored and kept just like wheat bran. 
Formerly it was called beef scrap. 

One can not get profitable results from fowls without feed- 
ing some kind of animal food. The town poultry keeper has 
enough table scraps to answer the purpose, and in the sum- 
mer the fowls can get insects easily, which accounts for the 
fact that summer laying is much more common than winter 
laying. If hens produce winter eggs, they must be fed 
meat scrap or some other animal food. If the farmer can 
profitably do so, he should use skim-milk or buttermilk. The 
fowls wiU drink this, and the meat scrap may be omitted. 
The meat scrap is the most expensive element of the ration, 
costing about 31/2 cents per pound. Feeding buttermilk to 
hens is one of the most profitable uses that can be made of 
that by-product. 

Poultry keepers should feed oyster shells. These help to 
form the eggshells. Analysis shows that the composition of 
the oyster shell and the eggshell is almost identical. The 
oyster shell dissolves rapidly enough to provide the calcium 
carbonate. Grit must also be fed, though many people think 
that either one is enough. Grit is a granite or any material 
hard enough to grind the food. Coarse sand or gravel is 
used by many poultry raisers, but the round particles in the 
sand or gravel are not sharp enough to grind ; the prepared 
chicken grit or ground granite is much more satisfactory. 

In addition, the chickens should have some kind of suc- 
culent feed. That may be apple parings, potato par- 
ings, cabbage, beets, etc. Sprouted oats are now be- 



POULTRY 205 

coming one of the most popular feeds, because they can 
be groTVTi easily in the winter in any basement where they 
will not freeze. A very good substitute is finely cut alfalfa 
or clover hay on which warm water is poured and allowed 
to steep over night. 

Much emphasis must be placed upon the water. We learn 
what should be fed fowls by the composition of the egg. 
The hen is not a wizard and can not make a product of 
materials which do not contain all the constituents of the 
product. Over 65 per cent of the egg is water. If she does 
not get her liquid either in water or milk (when we give 
buttermilk she gets both water and protein), the hen 
can not manufacture eggs. She must have a constant 
supply of liquid. Few people give the chickens enough to 
drink, particularly the laying hens. Hens will consume much 
more water when they are laying. This same indication may 
be seen in the oyster shells. They will not touch the shell 
until they are ready to begin laying. And since water or 
milk is one of the best carriers of disease germs, it is neces- 
sary to make sure that the drinking vessels are kept clean, 
and that the liquid put in them is clean and pure. In warm 
weather it should be kept in the shade. 

Essentials of a good poultry house. The order in which 
the essentials are mentioned does not mean that one is more 
important than the other ; they are all necessary. 

1. Freedom from dampness. 

2. Freedom from draughts (no cross draughts). 

3. Excellent ventilation. 



206 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

4. Cheerful surroundings; plenty of light. 

5. Room and convenience. 

Without all of these five conditions, one can not have a good 
poultry house. 




FIG. 32. A GOOD POULTRY HOUSE 

The necessity of housing* chickens in cold weather. The 

best results in the production of winter eggs — which is really 
the profitable side of poultrj^ keeping — are obtained by keep- 
ing the chickens housed from the time cold weather starts 
in the fall until spring comes. The fow^ls should not touch 
their feet on the ground out-of-doors during the winter 
months. For breeding flocks it is desirable to give a little 
more opportunity for exercise. If you are trying to breed, do 
not plan to get winter eggs at all. In this case egg produc- 
tion should not begin until you are ready to set the eggs. 
Most people, however, are interested in getting winter 
eggs. 

School poultry. In the school work of hatching and 
rearing young chickens, either the incubator or the hen may 



POULTRY 207 

be used, preferably both, wherever a school equipment will 
permit it. One should not attempt to use an incubator in 
conjiection with any school unless there is a basement in 
which it may be kept safely and under fairly good conditions. 

Descriptions and illustrations of ideal hen houses for keep- 
ing 3'oung chickens, the brood coops, etc., will be furnished 
by the state experiment stations. The children in the coun- 
try school can easily make the coops and use them in egg- 
laying contests. In these contests each pupil sets a hen in 
one of these coops. A prize is given to the pupil who raises 
the largest number of chickens; another to the pupil who 
raises the greatest number of pounds of chicken; another to 
the owner of the chickens that score the highest, etc. 

Some sanitary measures in the prevention of diseases 
among poultry. Common poultry ailments can be divided 
into three classes: 

(a) Those that affect the respiratory organs. 

(b) Those that affect the digestive organs. 

(c) The parasites. 

The kind of poultry house described on a preceding page 
is the best preventative for the first class of diseases. The 
most serious disease among poultry is roup, which is a catar- 
rhal cold resulting from secretions of the head, from which 
the chicken can not free itself and which become putrid and 
poison the system. A simple remedy is: a little ointment 
made of camphor, eucalyptus oil, menthol, and oil of cloves, 
applied with a sewing machine oil can through the nostrils 
into the cleft roof of the mouth. It is an almost absolute 
cure. 



208 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

A preventative of digestive troubles is granulated charcoal. 
It is not a food or a medicine, but a corrective. 

The greatest protection against any ailment is to have 
only healthy, vigorous, breeding stock. Healthy stock and 
sanitary conditions will eliminate most poultry troubles. The 
best protection against the spread of diseases which are gen- 
erally carried through drinking water is to use crystalline 
potassium permanganate in the water. This destroys organic 
matter. A few crystals in a quart of water will color it pur- 
ple, and will be sufficient for the purpose. For protection 
against parasites, keep the houses clean and spray frequently 
Avith a mixture of coal oil and crude carbolic acid. The best 
protection against lice is an application of a mercurial oint- 
ment. A piece about as big as a pea rubbed in the fluff over 
an area of about one square inch will protect the chicken for 
a month. 

The water-glass recipe for preservation of eggs. Use one 
part of liquid water-glass, which can be bought at about 75 
cents per gallon, with nine parts of ordinary drinking water. 
It is best to boil this water first to expel the air. Mix thor- 
oughly. Put the eggs into a two-quart fruit jar. This will 
hold about sixteen eggs and require about one quart of the 
solution. Screw the top on. The eggs will keep in large 
stone crocks without covers, but after the liquid is exposed 
to the air it begins to thicken in the bottom, and the eggs 
which have thin shells will be a little alkaline to taste after 
•several months. If a fruit jar is used and the lid is screwed 
on tight, the liquid will remain as clear as water. 

Poultry judging. If the community is interested in prac- 



POULTRY 209 

ticing poultry judging, gather in a number of birds and add 
to the interest of the work by scoring. Scoring is easily 
taught. Almost any good poultry text now gives the score- 
card and full descriptions which are easily understood. 

The poultry business. The experiment stations advise 
farmers who are at all interested in poultry keeping to 
organize the poultry just as the dairj^man does his cows into 
a unit large enough to keep one person busy all the time. 
A unit of not less than 500, and as many multiples of this 
as possible, is advisable. An elderly person or an invalid 
could take care of 500 chickens, except for occasional heavy 
work. 

There is no line of agricultural work that promises so 
large a profit as poultry raising. All our large poultry 
industries are showing that it is a conservative estimate to 
expect a hen to lay twelve dozen eggs in a year ; a few record 
hens have laid 300 eggs. It costs about a dollar to feed 
a hen a year. At twenty-five cents a dozen as the selling 
price, there would be three dollars return for the egg prod- 
ucts, or two dollars profit above the cost of feed. When you 
have a unit of 500 chickens making a profit of two dollars 
or even one dollar each per year, you have a pretty good 
income from that branch of your farming. Then, too, poul- 
try combines readily with many other forms of agriculture. 
Poultry with fruit, poultry with truck gardening, poultry 
with dairying, — all these are excellent combinations. 



210 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Notebook Questions 

1. Give three good reasons why poultry should be raised 
on the farm. 

2. Name ten standard breeds of farm poultry. 

3. What is your favorite breed and why ? 

4. Give one good feeding ration for egg production. 

5. Why must the chickens have oyster shells and grit? 

6. Why are green foods, meat foods, and water so essen- 
tial in the chicken's ration? 

7. Name four essentials of a good poultry house. 

8. What is the purpose of the trap nests? 

9. What is meant by developing desirable strains in 
poultry ? 

10. List six or seven common poultry ailments. 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 
1. Reports on home poultry. 



Breeds 



Number 
of Fowls 



Characteristics 



Profitableness 



2. Poultry records. Each student during the period of 
poultry study should keep a feeding and egg record of the 



POULTRY 



211 



flocks at home. The records should be kept for at least ten 
days, and a full report given by each student in the class at 
the end of the period. 

3. Trap nests. In order to determine which hens in the 
home flock are laying, the trap nest may be used as part of 
the practical work of this study. Students should install 
trap nests at home. These nests may be purchased at the 
poultry supply house, or an ingen- 
ious boy may make them. The 
manual training department of 
the high school would find this 
piece of work practical. The hens 
caught in the trap nests are num- 
bered by leg bands. In selecting 
eggs for breeding purposes, the 
eggs laid by these trapped hens 
are very desirable, especially if laid in the winter time. 

4. The egg. (a) For this exercise pupils should bring 
to the class a few eggs for study and observation. As an 
interesting introduction to the study the instructor may 
tabulate on the board the following data for the collection 
brought in: 



i 


fl^^^^H 


^ L^-L.---^ 



FIG. 33. A TRAP NEST 



Pupil's Name 



Breed of 
Chickens 



Color of 
Egg 



Weight 



Size 



Form 



212 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Pupils should copy this table in their notebooks and fill in 
the information gained. 

(b) Practice in examining eggs for freshness. Provide 
a large shoe-box and a lamp or other light for this exercise. 
Place the light in the box and hold the egg between the light 
and a small hole made in the side of the box through which 
the observer may examine the egg. If no cloudiness is seen 
in the egg it is fresh. Examine a number of eggs by this 
method. 

(c) Let each pupil break open an egg in a saucer and 
note the following points in its structure : The germinal 
disc, which appears as a light colored spot on the upper 
surface of the egg and contains the life principle of the yolk. 
It should be noted here that the egg with its white and yolk 
is a single cell ; the egg of the ostrich being the largest single 
cell in animal or plant life. Note the whitish cords of denser 
albumin which serve to keep the yolk properly suspended in 
the white of the egg. Note the clear watery appearance of 
the white of the egg. This is albumin, the food in liquid 
form upon which the young chick lives while in the shell. 
The chemical composition of the egg is as follows: Shell, 
10.7%; albumin, 11.9%; fats, 12.8%; salt, 7%; water, 
63.9%. 

(d) For this part of the study each pupil should have a 
hard boiled egg. Carefully remove the shell, piece by piece. 
Observe the air space and the two membranes beneath the 
shell. Cut the egg lengthwise through the middle. Make a 
drawing of the section, showing all the points mentioned 
under (c). 

5. Preservation of eg'gs. Refer to the paragraph in the 
chapter describing the method of preserving eggs by means 
of water-glass. As a practical exercise in this study, the 



POULTRY 213 

class should preserve eggs in water-glass according to the 
directions given until the method is familiar to all. 

6. House plans. Students should sketch in their note- 
books plans of the poultry house on the home farm, and 
other plans of modern poultry houses, showing the essential 
requirements for good poultry house construction. 

7. Judging poultry. Bring as many samples of chickens 
to the laborator}^ as possible, and drill in naming the external 
parts of the chicken's body as a preparation to the more 
difficult work of using the score-card. Use the state score- 
card in practical scoring of poultry at hand. 

8. Writing an advertisement. Each student should write 
a suitable advertisement for strictly fresh table eggs for 
sale to retail trade. IMake it for a business card two by four 
inches. Neatness and facts are the two points to be given 
special care in writing such an advertisement. 



PART III 

FARM BUSINESS AND LIFE 

CHAPTER XIV 

THE BUSINESS OF FARMING 

The fanner a business man. Farming must be considered 
not only as a productive industry, but as a business and a 
mode of life. In the early daj^s of farm life the farmer 
raised about everything his family needed. The village 
store supplied his extra needs, and a few dollars a year 
sufficed to meet all expenses. With the improved methods 
of agriculture now coming thick and fast, the farmer needs 
more money. He must produce more, buy more, and sell 
more. All these changes demand that the successful farmer 
be a business man. He must organize the farm, as do busi- 
ness men of other large lines, into a successful business 
enterprise. The average land owner of the Middle West 
has as large an investment as the city business man. Suc- 
cessful business men are not easily made. There seems to 
be a certain native business sense born with some men, — 
yet a business training in the principles and methods of 
good business helps to make the farmer a better manager, 
as much so as such training contributes to success in other 
business careers. Common sense business ability combined 

214 



THE BUSINESS OF FARMING 215 

with experience, scientific knowledge of plant and animal 
production, manual and mechanical skill, and hard work 
are the requirements for a successful farmer. 

The farmer's labor income. Labor incomes of farmers 
are not usually large, but they are measures of the farm's 
efficiency. Studies have been made of farm incomes over 
various parts of the country, and in the best regions the 
farmer's labor income rarely averages over $600. Besides 
this, the farmer makes interest on his capital, and has a 
house and farm products in addition. 

Some thoug-hts for the farm boy. Of course not every 
farm boy should choose farming as a vocation, but every 
boy should think twice before deciding to leave the farm. 
The farm boy has a good training for agriculture, and many 
a city youth envies this opportunity to choose an agricultural 
career. High salaries paid in cities are misleading, and, 
when the cost of living is taken into account, the salaries 
often dwindle to low figures. Farming is not easy work, but 
it assures a competence, a freedom from economic disturb- 
ances, a healthful life, and an opportunity to enjoy all that 
is best in the world. If one is to be a farmer of the twen- 
tieth century, he should prepare for the business. An agri- 
cultural education given in a good four-year high-school 
course or in a good agricultural college is desirable in pre- 
paring a young m.an for the business of farming as it will 
be carried on in the next decade. 

Some problems in farm management. It is not the pur- 
pose of this brief course to teach much about farm business. 
Merely to introduce the student to some of the problems 



216 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

of farm management should give ideas of the importance 
and of the value of the business side of farming, and lead 
to a further study in more specialized courses. 

(a) The first large problem is the type of agriculture to 
carry on, for this will determine the capital, labor, equip- 
ment, and land investment. Shall the type be general farm- 
ing, live-stock farming, grain farming, fruit farming, truck 
farming, or the more specialized types such as hog raising, 
wheat farming, apple growing, poultry raising, etc.? Cli- 
mate, soil, topography, transportation, markets, capital, labor 
supply, and the personal desires of the farmer will all be 
factors in making a choice. 

(b) A second large problem is whether the farmer shall 
do intensive farming on fewer acres and permanently main- 
tain his soil fertility, or whether he shall do extensive farm- 
ing, — mining the soil's fertility to get the largest crop pos- 
sible from as large an acreage as possible, with no considera- 
tion for the permanency of the soil's fertility. This often 
becomes a real problem to the man trying to pay off a 
mortgage on a large farm in a few years. 

Xc) The rotation of crops to utilize the maximum of land 
yielding profitable crops each year, and still to maintain the 
fertility of the soil, is a practical problem constantly before 
the farmer. 

(d) The amount and kind of live stock to keep is a prob- 
lem in most farm business. Whether to sell the grain and 
hay or to feed it to live stock, how much feed it will take, 
whether to buy feeders, or to raise one's own stock, are live 
questions in farm management. 



THE BUSINESS OF FARMING 217 

(e) The balancing of rations, the maintenance of feeding 
standards, the keeping of records of animal achievement and 
production, the cost of feed stuffs, the housing and general 
care of animals, the improvement of breeds, are all problems 
of live-stock farming. 

(f ) The amount of capital to invest in farm buildings and 
machinery in order to have both convenience and comfort 
as well as profitable money returns is another question. 

(g) The employment of sufficient reliable labor when 
needed is a difficult farm problem. Whether to plan for spe- 
cial or steady labor, how best to utilize the labor, what to 
pay, etc., are labor problems constantly recurring on the 
farm. 

(h) The lay-out of the farm and the arrangement of 
lots, fields, and buildings is a problem of no small concern. 
Upon the proper lay-out depends much of the economy in 
labor, equipment, and time in operation, as well as the gen- 
eral beauty of the farm's appearance. 

(i) The general question of keeping books connected with 
the buying and selling as well as with the records of crops 
and animals, is a problem too often neglected by the busy 
farmer, who should employ better business methods. 

Marketing. The marketing of farm products is as much 
a part of the business of farming as the production of the 
crops. It is not altogether an individual problem to find a 
successful market, but often a community or public ques- 
tion. If products are stored or held for higher prices, al- 
lowance must be made for cost of handling, insurance, shrink- 
age, etc. In most cases, wherever it is feasible, it pays to 



218 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

hold products for the month when the market prices of 
the products are the highest. The United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, sends free on re- 
quest the Crop Reporter, and this publication is of great 
value in all marketing of farm products. The question of 
marketing is how to sell, — whether to sell direct to the con- 
sumer or to commission men and distributing agencies. Direct 
marketing of farm products is likely to develop only through 
cooperation and farm organization. When farmers and con- 
sumers are properly organized, direct buying and selling can 
be carried on and some of the unnecessary costs of handling 
eliminated. Express companies and the parcel-post system 
are doing effective leadership in some localities in bringing, 
producers and consumers together in retail marketing. Grain 
elevator companies and large truck and fruit farmers have 
solved some of the problems of marketing by pooling their 
interests together and selling through their own paid agents. 
Products should never be sent to an unknown commission 
man. Whatever the system of marketing may be, certain 
principles should always be observed in making the selling 
of farm products a success. The goods should be honestly 
graded, measured, and labeled. The products to be sold in 
small quantities should be put up in clean, neat, and attractive 
packages, and a reputation should be established for the sale 
of first-class plant or animal products. When these principles 
are followed, the market seeks out the farmer, and his suc- 
cess is more certain. 

Farm records and accounts. Every farmer keeps some 
simple account of his business, if it is nothing more than 



THE BUSINESS OF FARMING 



219 



keeping track of who owes him and whom he owes. It 
becomes a simple matter of arithmetic to keep books, record- 
ing debits and credits. 'Men in the more up-to-date business 
of farming are doing more than mere bookkeeping ; they are 
keeping careful cost accounts and other records for the pur- 
pose of learning how to conduct the business more efficiently. 
Every farmer can make some estimate of costs and what 
things are paying him. There are many kinds of records 
that are desirable on farms, such as milk records of indi- 
vidual cows, feeding records, breeding records, crop yields, 
weather records, orchard records, drainage maps, perform- 
ance i^ecords of animals, etc. 

In all simple bookkeeping use the left hand page of the 
book for debits, and the right hand page for credits. 



Enter on the left hand page cash 
paid by you to the account, 
goods sold by you, work done 
by you, or any item for which 
you are not paid. 



Enter on the right hand page 
cash paid to you by the ac- 
count, goods delivered to you, 
or any items for which you 
must pay. 



The following are some examples of accounts and records 
advisable in farm business. 

1. A personal account with a hired man. 

Harry Farrington 
Commenced work April 1, 1915 — at $50 a month 



April 11 Cash $10.00 

" 30 Cash 40.00 

May 3 Cash 8.50 

" 15 Cash 20.00 



May 1 One month's work, 

April $50.00 

June 1 One month's work, 

May 50.00 



220 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

An annual inventory should be taken of the farm each 
year. Early' in the spring is usually the best time to do this. 
Such an inventory should list and give amounts and values 
of every detail of value about the farm. If the values are 
kept in columns so that the same page may be used for sev- 
eral years without having to rewrite the items, the taking of 
the annual inventory becomes a simple matter. The keep- 
ing of receipts and expenses is of considerable help in the 
farm business. It is a good practice for boys and girls to 
keep lists of receipts and expenses and thus form habits of 
thrift and economy. Moreover, because farmers do not keep 
accounts of expenses and receipts from their various enter- 
prises they simply go on guessing as to what is most profit- 
able from year to year. 

2. An account with a potato crop. (Taken from War- 
ren's Farm Management.) 

Potatoes — 1911 — 14 acres — (Leftht.nd page) 

May 20 Manure 30 T. at $1.50 $45.00 

23 6 oz. Corrosive Sublimate 60 

June 1 4 oz. " " 30 

" 12 6 lb. Paris Green 1.32 

July 13 Seed Potatoes— 160 bu. at .45c 72.00 

" 13 75 lb. Arsenate of lead 6.75 

" 21 50 " " " " 4.50 

" 21 35 " " " " 3.15 

Mar. 31 Use of land— 14 a. at $5.00 70.00 

828.5 br. man labor at 20c 165.70 

903 hrs. borse labor at 15c 135.45 

903 brs. macbinery at .05c 45.15 

Total $549.92 



THE BUSINESS OF FARMING 221 

Potatoes — 1911 — 14 acres (Righthand page) 

Oct. 23 226 bu. potatoes $136.00 

26 510 " " 316.20 

Nov. 3 241 " " 261.02 

March 31 Seed saved, 90 bu. at $1.00 90.00 

Saved for home use, 16 bu 9.60 

Estimated value of manure left in soil 20.00 

Total $832.82 

549.92 

Gain $282.90 

3. An account with chickens. 

Six Hens 



May 1 Lumber for House.$3.20 

June 2 Feed 75 

" 30 Corn-meal 2.40 

Aug. 1 Corn 3.00 



Profit 



$9.35 

10.05 
$19.40 



May 

June 

July 

Oct. 

Oct. 

Oct. 



30 
30 
30 

1 
10 
30 



Egg Sale 



Young Chicks 



Eggs Used 



$ 2.50 
1.80 
2.10 
6.00 
3.00 
4.00 

$19.40 



No special forms are needed for farm records. An ordinary 
account book ruled with places for dates, items, and money 
columns will answer. As many details as possible should 
be entered into the item column to make the accounts most 
valuable. The whole subject of farm accounts leads one 
easily into complexities that call for special treatment, but 
in this brief study the student is merely introduced to the 
subject and urged to adopt rational systems of accounting 
when he assumes the business of farm management. 



222 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



1. FORM FOR FARM INVENTORY 
Date 



Items 



No. 



Amount 



Value 



Land — acres 

Buildings 

Horses 

Cattle 

Hogs 

Sheep 

Poultry 

Machinery (listed)... 
Farm Crops (listed) . . 



Note — Fill into above columns where the items will apply. 
2. FORM FOR RECORD OF SALE OF CROPS 



Date Sold 



To Whom Sold 



Kind of 
Crop 



Amount 
Sold 



Price 



Total 
Received 



THE BUSINESS OF FARMING 223 

3. FORM FOR ANIMALS BOUGHT AND SOLD 



BOUGHT 


SOLD 


Date 


From 
Whom 


Animal 


Paid 


Date 


To 
Whom 


Animal 


Re- 
ceived 



















4. FORM FOR EXPENSE ACCOUNTS 



Date 
Paid 



To Whom Paid 



For 
What 


Amount 


Price 









Total 



224 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Notebook Questions 

1. Why must the successful farmer be a good business 
man? 

2. What are the sources of income for the farmer? 

3. Name some of the attractions of farming as a vocation. 

4. What are some of the problems of farm management 
most considered on your father's farm? 

5. Why is it as essential in the farming business to have 
a good market as it is to grow the products? 

6. What constitutes a good market? 

7. How is the parcel post aiding the farmers in marketing? 

8. Give some principles essential to successful marketing 
of farm produce. Criticize the markets and the marketing 
in your locality. 

9. Why is it helpful in the business of farming to keep 
records and accounts? 

10. What are some records and accounts the farmer 
should keep ? 

11. What is a farm inventory? 

12. What records and accounts are kept on your home 
farm? 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

1, Farm income. Calculate the labor income on the fol- 
lowing farm year records, allowing 5 per cent interest on 
the capital invested: 

Farm contains 80 acres valued at $150 per acre. 

Two horses worth $200 each. 

Three milk cows worth $50 each. 

Three sows worth $25 each. 

Thirty pigs worth $400. 

One hundred chickens worth $75. 



THE BUSINESS OF FARMING 225 

House and farm buildings worth $4,000. 
Farm implements worth $1,000. 
Forty acres in corn yielding 60 bushels per acre. 
Fifteen acres in wheat yielding 20 bushels per acre. 
Five acres in yard and gardens. 
Ten acres in alfalfa yielding four tons per acre. 
Ten acres in pasture. 

One man does practically all the work; there are four in the family. 
Three calves are sold at $20 each. 
Twenty-four pigs are sold at $250. 
Fifty chickens are sold at $1.00 each. 

Eggs and butter keep up the grocery bill and afford spending 
money for household necessities. 

Four hundred bushels of corn are sold at 60 cents. 
Two hundred and fifty bushels of wheat are sold at $1.00. 
Twenty tons of alfalfa are sold at $20.00 per ton. 
All feeds and seed are raised on the farm. 

Not counting the rental value of the homestead or the 
value of food produced on the farm for family use, what is 
the farmer's labor income, after deducting 5 per cent for 
interest on the capital invested? 

2. Record of a crop rotation. The following is an actual 
record of a ten-acre field in a four-year crop rotation.* 

(1) Clover sown in wheat in March. 

Number of bushels 1 

Cost of seed $6.50 

Cost of labor 1.25 

(2) Wheat cut in July. Threshed and sold. 

Yield, bushels 200 

Value of yield $160.00 

Total cost of labor 17.50 

(3) Pasture clover in fall. 

Number head of stock 5 

Number of months 2 

Income from pasture $12.00 



*Taken from the Author's One Hundred Lessons in Agriculture. 



226 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

(4) Clover hay harvested next June. 

Number of tons 12 

Price per ton $ 5.00 

Cost of labor 12.00 

(5) Clover seed crop in fall. Threshed and sold. 

Number of bushels 15 

Value of yield $90.00 

Cost of labor 20.00 

(6) Plow and plant corn, following spring. 

Cost of labor $10.00 

Cost of seed (ly^ bushels) 1.00 

From cultivations, cost of labor 7.50 

(7) Seeded wheat in corn, September. 

Seed cost (li/o bushels per acre) $12.00 

Cost of labor 4.00 

(8) Corn harvested in fall. 

Number bushels 500 

Value of yield $200.50 

Cost of labor 15.00 

Calculate total cost and receipts of this rotation, and the 
net gain on one acre for one year. Is it a good return? 

Arrange the items of this record into columns on the proper 
debit and credit pages of a book as it should appear in a 
bookkeeping account. 

3. The farm inventory.- Let each pupil make an inven- 
tory of the home farm and its equipment, and, after the total 
value of the property has been estimated, find the necessary 
net income in order to realize 5 per cent on the capital 
invested. 

4. Business forms. Pupils should drill on the making 
of receipts, notes, checks, simple rent and labor contracts, 
and business letters. 



CHAPTER XV 
COUNTRY LIFE ORGANIZATIONS 

An unarganized industry. If King Solomon were living 
today he might say, ''Of the making of many organiza- 
tions there is no end, and much meeting together is a 
weariness to the flesh." This would be true of urban life 
perhaps, but not of rural life, for the country people are 
not over-organized. It is not difficult to find hundreds of 
farmers within community bounds who do not belong to 
any organization. This ought not to be the case, for the 
best interests of the farmer and his community are con- 
served when he is living and working in cooperation with 
his fellows. The unorganized industries are sure to fall 
prey to the organized ones, and it will be an evil day for 
all when rural life in all its aspects becomes subservient 
to other organized industries because agricultural interests 
are unorganized and the farmers' individualistic tendencies 
prevail. 

Organization an evidence of progTess. One of the signs 
that any form of life is advanced in its development is its 
ability to cooperate in its parts and work in any organized 
capacity. This may be illustrated in the animal body. Note 
the differences, for instance, between the body of a sponge 

227 



228 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

and that of a man. The sponge is made up of cells each 
living a separate and independent existence, with little or 
no cooperation with the rest. It is a form of life poorly 
organized, and hence low in the scale of development. On 
the other hand, the body of the man is so highly organized 
that each cell cooperates with the others, making possible 
the advanced stage of development we see in the human 
body. This principle is true of mental life. The little child 
has not progressed mentally to that stage where he can 
cooperate with his fellows even in organized play, while the 
adult, because of larger growth and a more advanced stage 
of mental development, can cooperate in all forms of human 
activities. Enough has been said to show that a man or a 
community that does not cooperate in social activities, that 
is not able to work in an organized capacity, is in the sponge 
stage of life, or in the child stage of mental development. 

Our country folks must keep pace with the progress of 
the century in all its human interests, and one evidence 
and means of such progress is the cooperation of rural forces 
in various country life organizations. This evidence of 
progress is seen now on every side, and country life organiza- 
tions are forming in every state and county. The agricultural 
class of the high school would be taking a progressive step 
to lead in the organization of a Country Life or Agricultural 
Club in the school, using the plan suggested in the appendix 
of this book as a basis for organization. Such a club, organ- 
ized among high-school students who are interested in agri- 
culture and country life, would afford excellent opportuni- 
ties for such training as will better fit the boys and girls t(j 



COUNTRY LIFE ORGANIZATIONS 229 

become leaders in country life organizations when they go 
out to live the life of good citizens of the open country. 

The Grange. One of the oldest and best rural life or- 
ganizations in this country is the Grange, or the Order of 
Patrons of Husbandry. The idea and plan of this organiza- 
tion originated in the mind of Oliver H. Kelley, a Minnesota 
farmer, in 1867, while on a trip through the southern states. 
Tie had been sent by President Johnson to see what might 
]»e done to rebuild the devastated agriculture of that region. 
On his return to Washington, the organization was formed, 
and from that day to this the Patrons of Husbandry have 
extended their organization and good service to rural life 
into almost every state in the Union, having a membership 
at present of nearly a million men, women and young people. 

The purpose of the organization is to promote the inter- 
ests of agriculture in every legitimate and possible way, 
educationally, legislatively, cooperatively, and socially, with 
a view to developing a better manhood and womanhood on 
American farms. 

The Grange has been an important factor in the estab- 
lishment of agricultural colleges, high schools, and instruc- 
tion in agriculture in elementary schools. Rural mail deliv- 
ery, the parcel post, the patent-free sewing machine, the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, pure food laws, better tax laws, and 
scores of other measures of state and national value to agri- 
culture and country life, are the products of active Grange 
advocacy. 

It is a secret organization, and has its national, state and 



230 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

subordinate chapters or granges well organized and closely 
bound together. The Grange is a live institution, and its 
growth is of a permanent character. 

Fanners' Institutes. The Farmers' Institute has been in 
existence for over half a century and, like the Grange, has 
demonstrated its usefulness to country life. The Institute 
carries on an educational extension work. There are strong 
state and county organizations and national officers with 
advisory relationship, but there are no well-organized local 
community groups, meeting often as regular clubs. Most of 
the work is done in annual gatherings of agricultural peo- 
ple, and the organization offers opportunity for intercourse, 
for agricultural and household science instruction, for form- 
ing acquaintances, and for promoting a class consciousness. 
The Farmers' Institutes have popularized agricultural edu- 
cation, and have had a large part in the new agricultural 
awakening. 

The American Society of Equity. This is a comparatively 
new organization. It was incorporated under the laws of 
Indiana in 1902. It has extended its membership into sev- 
eral states, and has had much influence in determining the 
prices of farm products. It has a local, county, state, and 
national organization. Its objects are set forth as economic, 
educational, scientific, protective, social, pacific, and pro- 
motive. The American Societ}^ of Equity bids fair to be- 
come a strong factor in rural life organizations. 

The Farmers' Union. The Farmers' Union is an organiza- 
tion especially strong in the South. The organization was 
formed in the interests of farm life by Newt Gresham in the 



COUNTRY LIFE ORGANIZATIONS 231 

State of Texas in 1902. The Union has had a rapid growth. 
Every southern state and many northern states have Farm- 
ers' Unions, and the organization claims a membership of 
nearly three million. The Union has cooperated with labor 
unions, and seems to have objects and aims similar to the 
great labor union organizations, so far as they will apply 
to agricultural interests. It pledges that efforts shall be 
made to preserve the common '' rights and liberties," to give 
preference to the products of labor that is organized, and to 
have its officers cooperate with those of labor for social, legis- 
lative, and political amelioration. 

Country life clubs. Under various names, such as couii- 
try life clubs, farmers' clubs, agricultural clubs, community 
clubs, etc., rural people have formed local organizations. 
These organizations usually include the whole families of 
the farmers. They meet regularly, have programs of music, 
recitations, discussions of farm, home, and educational top- 
ics, and frequently lecturers from the outside are invited to 
take part in the programs. Various forms of refreshments 
arc often served during a social hour preceding or following 
the club's program. 

All such local organizations, by whatever name known, 
may now become affiliated with the National Country Life 
Club by merely notifying the secretary, who, at present, is 
the author of this book. Such affiliation requires no fees 
or obligations, but gives the local club the advantage of 
being united with larger groups from which it may receive 
inspiration, and guidance through its publications. One 
promising development of country life clubs is the Collegiate 



232 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Country Life Club, an organization now growing in colleges, 
normals, and other schools, whose membership is composed 
of college men and women who are to become the leaders of 
country life institutions and interests when they leave school. 

Boys and girls agricultural clubs. No study of country 
life organizations would be complete without looking into 
the growth, work, and development of the boys and girls 
club movement. There is a national leader directing this 
work, and nearly all the states have state leaders cooperating. 
County superintendents of schools, county agricultural ad- 
visors, and other local leaders are active in the organization 
and direction of the boys and girls agricultural clubs. These 
clubs are organized to promote better agriculture and home 
economics, and usually center about some form of contest. 
Corn-growing, tomato-raising, canning, gardening, pig-rais- 
ing, and poultry-raising contests are carried on by these 
clubs, and the possibilities of extending their activities into 
all phases of farm and home life are unlimited. 

Agricultural Improvement Associations. One of the lat- 
est and most efficient forms of a country life organization is 
the Agricultural Improvement Association, forming in hun- 
dreds of counties over the country in every state in the 
Union. The county is the unit of organization, and the 
securing of a county agricultural advisor for the Association 
is the first important work of the organization. A member- 
ship fee of ten dollars a year for a period of three or five 
years is usually required, and the membership Is limited to 
between three hundred and four hundred persons. Farmers 
and business men of the towns of the county become members 



COUNTRY LIFE ORGANIZATIONS 233 

of the Association. Officers are elected, constitution and by- 
laws are drawn up, and an advisor is employed. 

The main aims of the Association, working through the 
advisor, are economic, looking to improved agricultural con- 
ditions ; but more and more these associations are concerning 
themselves with the social, educational, and other rural life 
problems needing the cooperation which such a strong organ- 
ization can render. 

The county advisors usually work under state leaders, and 
these, in cooperation with the State College of Agriculture 
and the United States Department of Agriculture, tie up the 
whole system into one of the strongest and best financed 
and manned farmers' organization in the country. The pas- 
sage of the Lever Bill in 1915 made available a large federal 
fund to be distributed to the counties organizing agricultural 
improvement associations, supplementing the fund raised 
by the farmers of the county. 

Some activities of country life organizations. The his- 
tory of farmers' organizations shows many lines of activities, 
ranging from local community cooperation in economic, so- 
cial, and educational interests, to state and national influence 
in constructive legislation for rural progress. The following 
are some of the more common forms of local activities carried 
on by farmers' organizations: 

1. Providing entertaining and instructive programs for 
communit}'^ meetings. 

2. Cooperating with the Extension Departments of Col- 
leges of Agriculture in arranging short courses in agriculture 
and household science for the community. 



234 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

3. Organizing and directing boys and girls agricultural 
clubs and contests. 

4. Having farmers' picnics, fall festivals, and special day- 
celebrations. 

5. Putting on lecture courses for the community. 

6. Cooperative buying of such farm supplies as limestone, 
rock phosphate, seed, spray material, expensive farm ma- 
chinery, etc. 

7. Purchasing pure-bred sires in cooperative live-stock im- 
provement. 

8. Cooperative selling of fruit, grain, hay, animals, and 
other farm products. 

9. Improvement of roads, and the beautifying of tne 
countryside. 

10. Passing resolutions and taking united stands on ques- 
tions of local, state, or national policies affecting the farmers' 
interests, and urging cooperative action of all farmers' or- 
ganizations on such policies. 

Notebook Questions 

1. "Why have not farmers been so well organized as men 
of other leading vocations? 

2. What influence does a good farmers' organization have 
upon the progress of the community and rural life interests? 

3. List the leading country life organizations. 

4. What are some important benefits for country life 
which have been brought about through the influence of farm- 
ers' organizations? 

5. How are county agricultural advisors employed, and 
what are some of their duties? 



COUNTRY LIFE ORGANIZATIONS 235 

6. What activities have boys and girls clubs carried on 
in your community? 

7. Why would a countrj^ life or agricultural club be a 
good organization for our high school? 

8. Describe the aims, purposes, and work of the farmers' 
organizations you know most about from actual observation 
and contact. 



CHAPTER XVI 

RURAL LIFE PROGRESS 

Rural institutions. Rural life progress is made in rural 
institutions. When we study the changes that have come 
about in recent years in the country, we must look into the 
business and social organizations, the country home, the coun- 
try school, rural political life, and the country church to 
trace the progress made. These institutions have always 
existed in the country, and they must not only exist, but 
progress, if there is to be a permanent and satisfying country 
life. 

The farm. The farm is a great plant, made up not only 
of land, plants, animals, and buildings, but of human life 
as well. It is an institution in itself, with its varied forms 
of life and activities. In a larger sense than the factories, 
department stores, railroads, and other great industrial aggre- 
gates, the well-organized farm is an institution demanding 
education, work, and management, and admitting of progress 
in all of its departments and aspects. The progress that must 
be made in agriculture to meet the demands of the farm in 
the tAventieth century will be along the lines of permanent 
soil fertility, improvement of plants and animals, and the 
control of insect pests and plant and animal diseases. These 

236 



RURAL LIFE PROGRESS 237 

demands can never be met except through the application of 
science to the practical work of the farm. 

The farm home. The life in the farm home is more inti- 
mately connected with the vocation of the bread winners than 
is the life in the homes where other vocations are carried on. 
On the farm every member of the family has a part in and 
knoAvs of the daily activities of the business of agriculture. 
With the progress of scientific agriculture must come prog- 
ress in the life of the country home. The present genera- 
tion of home builders must make the country home more 
sanitary, more convenient, and more beautiful. There must 
be more adequate sewage disposal, so that filth and waste may 
not breed disease in the farm home. There must be more 
modern conveniences in the home, so that the women need 
not wear out their lives by avoidable drudgery. There must 
be more art in the country home, better books, better pic- 
tures, better music, better rural architecture, and a more 
beautiful countryside through the use of landscape art and 
the materials of nature so abundantly furnished. 

The country school. Much good and a great deal of 
adverse criticism has been spoken and written about the coun- 
try schools. We usually think of the country schools as the 
one-room institutions planted here and there and everywhere 
throughout the open country. Whatever these country schools 
may have been in the past, they, too, must fall in line with 
the progress of rural life in the twentieth century and serve 
a larger purpose for the people of the country. Some of the 
lines of progress for the country schools are the consolidation 
of the small districts into larger units, and the establishment 



238 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

of high schools within easy reach of every farm home. All 
this implies more financial support, better supervision, and 
better instruction. Such vocational courses as agriculture, 
household science, manual training, business, etc., will be 
offered, together with such other branches of study as will 
give a liberal education to the boys and girls of the country. 
Furthermore, these schools will be in session at least eleven 
months in the year, and will be for all the people of the 
community, old and young alike. 

The roads. So important are the roads to the progress 
of rural life that w^e may discuss them briefly along with 
other country life institutions. No arguments are needed to 
prove to the intelligent and unselfish mind that good country 
roads are essential to the progress of all rural institutions. 
The coming of the automobile has had much to do with the 
improvement of our modern roads. It remains for the pres- 
ent generation to begin the great work of building hard roads 
in every township of our important agricultural regions. Why 
should not every acre of land be taxed to support good hard 
roads, even though future generations be bonded to meet the 
indebtedness ? Both i>resent and future generations will profit 
by such public service as the building of hard roads. 

Another large task for the present generation in this mat- 
ter of road building is to provide a double track for all our 
railroads and traction lines. Such road building as here 
suggested may seem too momentous a task to think of, but, 
as compared with other large public services which our fore- 
fathers have done, such as pioneering a new country and 
establishing permanent institutions, the building of good roads 



RURAL LIFE PROGRESS 239 

would be only one duty commensurate with the privileges and 
opportunities of the present day. 

Political and social life. The progress of country life 
institutions depends in large measure upon the social organ- 
ization and political control affecting rural life. The laws 
and their enforcement governing schools, roads, taxation, land, 
voting, and all social affairs of the country, contribute directly 
to the progress or hindrance of these matters touching coun- 
try people. As our young men and women go out from the 
new country schools where they have learned to love the 
open country and to understand its needs and how to meet 
them efficiently, and where they have gained an education 
enabling them to stand among men of all vocations on equal 
terms, then voting will be more independent and intelligent, 
laws v/ill be enacted and enforced giving better justice to 
country life interests, and political and social life will be 
cleaner and more elevating. 

The country church. Last but not least among the num- 
ber of the country life institutions to share in the progress 
of our century is the country church. No other institution 
labors so unselfishly for the conservation of all the better 
things of life as does the church. The country church may 
be dead or dying out in many places, but if rural life is to 
prosper, if agriculture is to become permanent, if country 
life institutions are to progress, then the country church must 
be saved, and it, too, must keep pace with the progress of 
the times. In this progress the country church must become 
a community serving institution. There should be only one 
country church in the community, and all the people should 



240 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

unite to make it the center of the spiritual life of the com- 
munity. The modern country church throws open its doors 
to all the people of the country-side. To it they come for 
education, inspiration, social culture, vocational guidance, 
religion, and all the good things that the Father of Life has 
so abundantly made possible in the open country. 

Notebook Questions 

1. Name the leading country life institutions. 

2. What would you name as the one greatest need in 
bringing about the next step in the progress of : 

(a) the farm 

(b) the farm home 

(c) the country school 

(d) the roads 

(e) political life 

(f) the country church 

3. Which of these institutions has progressed most and 
which least in your community? 



PART IV 
HORTICULTURE 

CHAPTER XVII 

FARM FORESTRY 

Characteristics of trees. Trees are the most prominent 
and one of the most important and interesting features in 
the living vegetable world. Their great height, their long 
life, and their form distinguishes them from other plants. 
The single stem or trunk, which develops more strongly than 
the branches into which it divides and which in their aggre- 
gate make up the crown, is the tree's most characteristic 
form. The tree is the 'Svhale" of the vegetable world in 
size, and the ' * man ' ' of that world in point of highest devel- 
opment. 

Identifying the trees. Before we can go far into the study 
of trees, we must be able to call them by their names. We 
must know them at sight as we know our friends. It may 
not be necessary for us to be able to tell just how we know 
the maple from the ash when we are children — the form, fea- 
tures, and general appearances Avill guide — but later we shall 
need to use a "key," based on structural features of leaves 
or other parts of the tree. 

Life processes of the tree. The two great life processes 

241 



242 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

of the tree, as well as of all plants, are to get nourishment 
and to reproduce its kind. The tree gets its food from the 
soil, and the air through its roots and leaves. The solid food 
from the soil must go into solution and be carried upwards 
from the roots through the sap-wood to the leaves. The gas 
food must be taken in through the leaves. All this food, the 
minerals from the soil and the carbon from the air, is pre- 
pared for the different parts of the tree in the leaves by the 
aid of the sunlight. The prepared food is then carried down- 
ward through the inner soft bark to where it is needed to 
make root, trunk, branch, leaf, flower, and fruit. Girdling 
a tree, therefore, checks this downward flow of food and not 
the upward flow of crude sap. 

The trees, except those of the palm tribe, grow in girth 
by adding ring upon ring of wood cells to their trunks and 
branches; in height, not by lifting the whole trunk and 
crown, but by adding to the tips of the twigs. Trees repro- 
duce by seeds, sprouts, and sometimes by cuttings. 

Structure. A tree, like every other living thing, is com- 
posed of tissues made up of minute cells varyuig in shape, 
size, and thickness of cell wall. The bulk of the bole of the 
tree is not living but dead tissue, composed of empty cells. 
For this reason the heart of a tree may be dead and the tree 
continue to live and grow. The living part of the tree trunk 
is on the outside of the wood, between bark and wood. The 
growing tissue of this live part is called the cambium. Grow- 
ing cells are also grouped at the tips of roots and at the tips 
of the shoots. The thick outer bark of the tree is dead tissue 
which sooner or later loosens and sloughs off. In the center 



FARM FORESTRY 243 

of a young tree, and of an old tree whose heart has not 
decayed, is the pith, soft, thin-walled cells in which food is 
stored. The pith extends in radiating rays out to the bark. 
In a cross section of a tree we can see pith, pith rays, rings 
of growth, heart wood, sap wood, and bark. 

Tree Societies — The Forest 

Forest conditions. Trees grow together in societies and 
make what are known as forest conditions. The forest has a 
story quite different from that of a single tree. Here the 
trees struggle with one another for the best position, like 
people in a crowd jostling one another to get sight of some 
com.mon attraction before them. In the forests trees struggle 
with each other for light, food, and foothold, resulting in 
the formation of forest crowns, forest trunk masses, and for- 
est floors. The ideal forest crown has all its tree tops touch- 
ing each other, so as to completely shade the ground without 
overcrowding any single tree; the wood mass has clear, 
straight boles and the maximum number to the acre ; and the 
forest floor is rich in leaf-mold and free from grass and fire- 
traps. 

The wood supply. The prime importance of the forest to 
mankind is its wood supply. Outside of food products no 
material is so universally used as wood. Indeed, civilization 
is inconceivable without an abundance of timber. Wood sur- 
rounds us on every hand as a convenience or a necessity. We 
require wood in the construction of our homes. It serves 
to ornament them, to furnish them, and to heat them. For 



244 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

every hundred tons of coal mined, two tons of mining timber 
are needed. For our means of transportation we rely mainly 
on wood. Millions of telephone poles are needed to keep up 
our communications. The forest furnishes the wood for all 
the implements of the farm, and for all vehicles of trans- 
portation there. Lumber is not the only product of the forest. 
There is the turpentine of the pine, the paper pulp of the 
spruce and poplar, the tan bark of the oak and hemlock, the 
sugar and syrup of the maple, and the various distilled prod- 
ucts from many other species. The alarming fact about the 
use of forest products is that we are using wood three times 
faster than it is growing. 

Forest influences. In addition to serving as a great source 
of wood supply, the forest exerts certain influences on human 
interests. These are influences: 

1. Upon the climatic conditions within the forest area. 

2. Upon the distribution and character of the water flow. 

3. Upon the mechanical condition and erosion of the soil 
under its cover. 

4. Upon the sanitary and esthetic conditions of the people. 
About the only influence the forest has upon climate is to 

keep it more uniform within its own limits, and to shelter our 
homes from storms and winds. The forest's greatest influ- 
ence is upon the distribution and character of the water flow. 
The forest crown and floor catch and hold the rainfall, and 
allow it to sink slowly into the ground to supply a uniform 
flow in springs and streams, at the same time preventing 
destructive floods and excessive ^oil washes. The forest air 
and water are pure and healthful, and the tired city dweller, 



FARM FORESTRY 245 

as well as the free country man, may find peaceful rest and 
happy appreciation of nature beneath the forest's kindly 
shelter. 

The National Forests 

The conservation policy. Destructive lumbering and 
wastful use have wrought havoc with the forests. Forest fires 
have swept over thousands of acres of timber land, destroy- 
ing not only the trees, both old and young, but even eating 
out the rich soil, the accumulation of ages. Then follow the 
wasjiing away of unprotected soil on deforested slopes and 
destructive freshets which cover the lowlands with deposits 
of sand and mud. To prevent this waste of the wealth of the 
nation. Congress has established the National Forests. The 
spirit which controls the administration of these National For- 
•ests may be set forth in the words ''careful use." Rangers 
patrol the forests to protect them from misuse and destruc- 
tion. Live stock graze on the forest, but the number is lim- 
ited. Water power is not cut off from use, and lumbering is 
carried on, but under the supervision of trained foresters, 
who see that all trees cut are closely utilized, that provision 
is made for leaving seed trees, and that the brush is properly 
burned so as to minimize the danger from fire. 

In addition to these methods of careful usage, the national 
government is planting large areas of forest. Al'together, how- 
ever, in this country we have planted an area equal only to 
the State of Rhode Island, whereas the area planted to trees 
should have been one hundred times greater. The forest is 
a very important contributor to our national wealth, and one 



FARM FORESTRY 247 

of the chief reasons why our nation is so very prosperous 
is because we have been bountifully supplied by nature with 
timber. Hence it is the duty of every citizen to see that this 
great national heritage is not wasted or wantonly destroyed. 

The forests of the United States. About one-fourth of 
the United States is in timberland. There are two great and 
unlike forest regions; namely, the Pacific and the Atlantic 
regions. All the country east of the Mississippi River was 
originally a vast forest of about seven hundred and fifty 
million acres, of which about 40 per cent has been turned into 
farm lands. The area to the west is almost twice as large, 
and into it stretch, like peninsulas, the forest mountain ranges 
of the Rockies and the forests of the Sierras and Coast Ranges. 

The Atlantic forests are composed of a large variety of 
broad-leaved species, with conifers intermixed, gradually 
changing to the westward into prairie country. To the west 
of the prairie belt lie the plains and semi-arid regions, where 
tree growth is almost absent. Into this type of country the 
Rocky Mountain forests protrude. These forests are prin- 
cipally coniferous. Parallel to the coast from north to south 
extends the Pacific forest, along the mountain slopes of the 
Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and Coast Range. These forests 
have trees of most magnificent development, with only a few 
broad-leaved species. Here grow the famous "big trees," 
now rapidly vanishing before the lumberman. 

From this vast forest domain the federal government has 
set apart nearly two hundred million acres as great national 
reservations. These reserves are controlled by expert for- 
esters whose policy, as heretofore explained, is that of care- 



248 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

ful usage of all the forest resources. Most of these reserves 
are in the far West, but since the federal government has 
appropriated about twelve million dollars to purchase east- 
ern reserves, we now have some national forests in the Appa- 
lachian region. 

The Farmer's Wood Lot 

The fanner and forestry. Even though the national gov- 
ernment does own nearly two hundred million acres of for- 
est, and private and corporate interests own many millions 
more, the greatest bulk of forests is owned and controlled by 
the farmers. We must look to them for our future timber 
supply. Are they using and conserving wisely this great nat- 
ural resource? 

It is more practical and of more general value to the coun- 
try that the farmer practice the principles of good forestry 
on his wood lot than that the government own large reserva- 
tions. There are many reasons why the farmer should and 
could be governed by modern forestry principles in the man- 
agement of his wood lot. The land is his, he has time to look 
after his forest, to study its needs and requirements, he needs 
the timber for farm operations, he can protect it from fire, 
presence the young trees, and plant more as needed. 

If all of the eight million farmers of this country would 
plant or wisely manage wood lots, the general forest condi- 
tions and the lumber supply of the country would be greatly 
improved. All non-agricultural lands, such as steep hillsides. 



FARM FORESTRY 249 

roadsides, and stream banks, should be covered with growing 
trees, for these places could not be used more profitably in 
any other way. 

Planting the wood lot. The seedlings of such trees as 
catalpa, black locust, walnut, ash, and poplar may be pur- 
chased for small sums, and an acre of land will support from 
500 to 1,000 of these trees. The trees should be planted on 
land prepared as if for a corn crop, and set from six to 
eight feet apart each way. The young trees should be culti- 
vated for the first four or five years, or until the crowns touch 
and the canopy entirely shades the ground. In a compara- 
tively short time the young forest will be full of promise, 
even within the lifetime of one generation. 

If the farmer already has a wood lot, so much the better. 
His scientific forestry then will consist in cleaning out worth- 
less, dead, misshapen, or crowded trees, and giving all valu- 
able species every advantage of root and crown space. If 
fire is kept out and the grass is shaded down, the forest will 
naturally regenerate itself, and the farmer may use the ma- 
ture trees and the thinnings from his wood lot without impair- 
ing the permanency of his forest. 

The wood lot a source of supply. A good timber lot is 
one of the best crops a farmer can raise, and will yield good 
interest on the money invested. Such supplies as farm 
building frames, shingles, fence posts, telephone poles, fuel, 
taken from the farmer's wood lot, mean a considerable sav- 
ing in expenditures when these necessities would otherwise 
have to be purchased. 



250 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Nut Crops 

The nut trees. We should not continue our study of the 
forest without noting the importance of the nut trees. Nuts 
constitute a valuable part of man 's food. They are rich and 
nutritious, and are coming more and more to occupy an 
important place among our articles of diet. Some of the 
leading varieties of nut trees are the almond, English wal- 
nut, white walnut or butternut, hickory nut, pecan, chin- 
quapin, black walnut, chestnut, hazelnut, cocoanut, and Bra- 
zil nut. 

The hickory. The shell bark and shag bark hickories 
furnish our best nuts. They make excellent shade trees and 
bear swxet and wholesome nuts. Every country boy knows 
how to gather hickory nuts. The hickory trees are propa- 
gated by sprouts and seeds. As a forest tree for wood sup- 
plies, the demand for hickory is very great, and the supply 
is fast decreasing. 

The pecan. The pecan tree grows wild in many parts 
of our country and is being cultivated in many of the south- 
ern states. The Appomatox and Mantura are varieties of 
pecans being adapted successfully for cultivation in states 
as far north as Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, 
and Illinois. Pecans may be propagated from seeds, but bud- 
ding and grafting give the best results. Pecan trees begin 
to bear when about six years of age. The planting and grow- 
ing of pecan groves is an enterprise worth trying, and cer- 
tainly every farm should have a few trees for the sake of 
the shade and nuts they will afford. 



FARM FORESTRY 251 

The Eng-lish walnut. This is a large tree which begins 
to bear profitably when it is about six years old, and con- 
tinues for nearly thirty years. English walnuts are grown 
in Spain. Italy, France, and also in California. Successful 
attempts to grow the English walnut have been made in many 
of the southern states. A few trees are growing thriftily in 
West Virginia and Ohio, but, so far as the writer knows, none 
have yielded profitable crops. 

The chestnut. The unusually large crop which the chest- 
nut tree produces encourages us to believe that this tree is 
a profitable one to grow in many sections. The chestnut bark 
disease, now spreading throughout the eastern states, is a dis- 
couraging feature in chestnut culture. Many foreign varie- 
ties of chestnuts are being successfully grafted on native 
stock to the advantage of this branch of nut culture. 

The black walnut and butternut. These common nuts are 
still great favorites among the farm supplies of nut foods. 
The walnut trees are rather rapid growers, and their culture 
is to be encouraged, not only for the nuts they afford, but 
for the valuable timber they produce. 

The nut industry. The culture of nuts has become so 
important that a National Nut Growers' Association has been 
organized which publishes a monthly magazine, ''The Nut 
Grower," and holds annual meetings to discuss the work of 
this industry. The demand for nuts in the markets of the 
world is growing rapidly, and the business of nut growing 
has become very profitable, especially in the South. Nuts are 
being used more and more extensively for food, particularly 
in the preparation of meat substitute dishes. 



252 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Trees in the LxVndscape 

Beauty and utility. Goethe 's remark, that ' ' The beautiful 
must be taken care of; the useful will take care of itself," 
is to a large extent true to-day. The American people are 
slow to pay the price for beauty, especially in landscape art. 
We are entering upon a period, however, when the esthetic 
aspects of our surroundings are beginning to occupy our 
attention. Forestry is not an esthetic art, but an industrial 
one, the object of which is similar to agriculture; namely, 
the management of the soil for the production of wood crops. 
Yet the natural beauty, the sylvan charm, and the woodsy 
flavor of a forest readily suggest the esthetic element which 
stimulates our artistic sense. It will be impossible to develop 
a satisfactory country life without conserving the beauty of 
the landscape, and developing the people to the point of 
appreciating it. 

The forest an element of beauty in the landscape. Both 
the artistically kept park of the city and the natural neglected 
forest of the open country contribute the largest element to 
the picture in the landscape. The forest furnishes the back- 
ground against which the farm home scenes show most at- 
tractively. The broken sky-line of the trees, the variation in 
form and color of the leaves, the massing of shrubs at the 
borders of the forests, the seasonal changes of the foliage — 
all are details which the landscape gardener seeks to imitate 
in his efforts to give natural beauty to a bit of ground. 

The call of the forest. People are naturally drawn to the 
forests for rest, recreation, and the satisfaction which its 



FARM FORESTRY 253 

shade and beauty afford. We seem to feel instinctively that 
trees must surround our most sacred things. We plant trees 
about our homes, we bring the Christmas tree into our Yule- 
tide festivities; it was an ancient custom to plant a tree in 
honor of the birth of a child, and we often plant trees at the 
graves of our loved ones. As long as human life responds 
to the beauty of trees, our landscape art will be conserved. 



Notebook Questions 

1. Name the forest trees that you know at sight. 

2. What are the two life processes going on in the living 
tree? 

3. What are ideal forest conditions? 

4. Name five values which forests serve. 

5. What is meant by conservation of the forests? 

6. What are some agencies responsible for the conserva- 
tion of our forests? Which can do the most? 

7. Name some practical work the farmer can do in pro- 
viding a good wood lot on his farm. 

8. List some good trees for farm wood lot planting. 



Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

1. Identifying trees. Let the class in agriculture take 
a walk with the teacher among the trees. Each pupil should 
have notebook and pencil. Let the teacher point out the 
trees and give each tree a number. Let each pupil take down 
the number and opposite the number write down the kind 
of tree he thinks it is. After naming a dozen or more trees, 
return to the house, or be seated anywhere, and check up 



254 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



each list with the teacher 's correct names. This exercise may 
be repeated until the pupils know all the trees in the vicinity. 
2. Reports on individual trees. Assign to each pupil a 
single species of tree and require the following table filled 
out, from observational study: 



Name of 
tree 



Size and 
form 



Place of 
growth 



Condition 
of tree 



How I know 
the tree 



3. Determining age of trees. Cut cross sections of 
branches as large as can be conveniently obtained, and give 
each pupil a section. Count the rings of growth in the cross 
sections and note the age of the branches. Make drawings 
of the sections showing bark, rings of groAvth, and pith rays. 

4. An observational study of forest conditions. Go with 
the class in agriculture to a forest. Let the pupils scatter 
out through the forest untilno two are within fifty steps of 
each other. With paper and pencil let each pupil make 
note of the forest where he is standing, as follows: 

1. Condition of crown, whether open or closed. 

2. Tree-boles, whether clean, straight, etc. 

3. Forest floor, whether grassy or rich in leaf mould. 

4. Kind of trees. 



FARM FORESTRY 255 

5. A forest museum. Let the teacher and pupils start 
a little museum containing samples of forest products, col- 
lections of woods, tree seeds, and other materials derived from 
the forest. These specimens should be so arranged that 
they may be handled and passed about from pupil to pupil 
without injury. 

6. Determining board measure in a tree. Measure the 
diameter of a tree of merchantable size, about breast high 
on the trunk. Determine by "guess estimation" the number 
of sixteen-foot logs which could be taken from the tree. Sub- 
tract four from the diameter in inches, square the remainder, 
and multiply the result by the number of logs in the tree. 
The result is the approximate B. M. (board measure) feet 
according to standard log rules. A rough estimate of lum- 
ber content of a given, area could be worked out by this 
method. 

7. Map studies of forest areas of the United States. Con- 
sult the maps of the United States in the school geographies. 
Note the areas mentioned above of the great forest regions 
of the country. Find answers from the geographies and 
from other sources to the following questions: 

1. Where are the great lumbering sections of the United 
States? 

2. What are the principal commercial species ? 

3. In what counties of your state are the forested areas? 

4. What influence does the forest have upon water and 
soil conditions? 

5. Upon what kind of regions should forests be perma- 
nently maintained? Why? 

6. What is the conservation policy as applied to forests? 
Note. — Send to the Forest Service, Washington, D. C, for 

a forest map of the United States. 

8. Reports on home wood lots. The pupils should make 
a tabular report of the home Avood lot, as follows: 



256 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



No. of Acres 



Species of 
Tree 



Supplies taken 
from It 



General 
Condition 



9. Planting a forest nursery. The planting and care of 
a forest nursery by pupils of the public schools is one of the 
most practical forms of garden work, because trees are more 
permanent and require less attention than garden vegetables. 
Spade up a piece of ground about 6 feet by 12 feet in an 
unused corner of the school yard. Select a well drained site, 
not too sloping, with as rich a loam soil as possible. Work 
into the soil this fall a liberal amount of well rotted manure, 
and leave the ground without further preparation until 
spring. 

In the spring, as soon as conditions will permit, the ground 
should be thoroughly pulverized and a seed-bed prepared for 
the planting. Lay off the plot in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. 
Such tree seeds as the basswood, catalpa, poplar, beech, chest- 
nut, locust, oak, maple, and such others as can be obtained, 
may be planted in the rows of the nursery plot. During the 
fall gather and store the seeds. Acorns and nuts are best 
stored by being buried in sand in a box, sunk in the ground 
in a well drained place. Other tree seeds may be kept in 



FARM FORESTRY 



257 



good condition in sacks hung in cool, dry places away from 
rats and mice. 

10. Setting a catalpa grove. Either in the fall or spring 
plant a small catalpa grove on the school grounds or on an 
adjacent lot which some patron is willing to loan for that 
purpose. Plow up about one-tenth of an acre. Lay it off in 
rows both ways 6 feet apart. At the crossing of the rows 
plant a catalpa seedling. The plot will contain about 100 
little trees. Send to Little Tree Farms, South Framingham, 
Mass., or to Ohio Valley Nursery Co., Lake, Indiana, for the 
catalpa seedlings. They will cost about 1 cent a tree. Be 
sure to get the catalpa speciosa, or the hardy catalpa, for 
the common soft catalpa is worthless as a farm tree. 

11. Description of various nuts. Bring to class all the 
various kinds of nuts you can obtain and tabulate the de- 
scription of each as indicated below: 



Name of Nut 



Size 



Nature of 
Hulls 



Kind of 
Kernel 



Plant bearing 
the Nut 



12. The picture in the landscape. Step to the door or 
the window of the school house with the class, and look out 
upon some forest. Call attention to the broken sky-line. 



258 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

where the tree tops vary in height. Note the different colors 
of foliage and the different shapes of the trees. Observe 
how the trees and shrubs are massed, and how the shrubs 
fill up the space down to the ground. Frame with the eye a 
picture, bordered by sky, hill, forest, and earth, and observe 
how beautiful it is. Let the pupils now be seated and write 
a description of the picture from the details observed. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 

The Orchard 

The home orchard. Every man who owns a home in the 
country owes it to his family to ha^e an orchard. Fruit is a 
popular and healthful food, and every farm should provide 
it, both for the summer table and the winter cellar. 

*'The farm without its fruit orchard is like pancakes with- 
out maple syrup — possible, but not enjoyable." The farm 
orchard should supply the family and friends with the cheap- 
est and most enjoyable fruit the year through, as well as 
with many dainty dishes the housewife knows so well how 
to prepare. 

The farm orchard, besides providing wholesome food for 
the family, adds to the landscape beauty of the home grounds. 
The blossoming of the orchard in springtime, the rich green 
foliage of the summer, the ripened fruit of autumn, and the 
snow-covered branches of winter give to the old farmstead 
a perennial beauty which every country-bred boy and girl 
will learn to appreciate. In addition to furnishing these 
delights, the home orchard, unless the markets be over-stocked, 
may be a source of profit as well. 

It is not the purpose of these lessons, however, to advise 

259 



260 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

or teach commercial fruit growing. We are justified in call- 
ing attention to the farm home orchard and in teaching every 
boy and girl in the schools how to select, set out, and care 
for an orchard, in order that every farm home may have its 
fruit supply. Unless the farm has a fruit orchard and a 
good garden, the country people are not likely to be well fed. 
The boys and girls growing up on a farm without its orchards 
and gardens are likely to grow discontented with the dull 
monotony of the food, work, and scenery of the old home and 
leave, to their own and to the farm's detriment. 

General topics concerning the farm orchard. In order 
to have a successful home orchard the farmer must know 
how to care for it. He should know how to select the best 
site for his orchard, the trees best suited to his locality, how 
to set them out properly, how to prune, trim, and graft, and 
how to protect them from diseases and insect enemies. The 
fruit orchard will not ''live by faith alone." "Watchful, in- 
telligent care and considerable work are required to maintain 
a farm orchard in first-class condition. While this is true, 
there are few things that bring better returns or give greater 
satisfaction for the labor bestowed. 

Selecting the Trees 

Varieties. The commercial orchardists seldom plant more 
than four or five varieties best adapted to their location and 
markets, but the farmer requires many varieties to supply 
the demands for fruit throughout the year. Early summer, 
late summer, early fall and w^inter, late winter and early 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 261 

spring fruit, are all necessary for his table. There are hun- 
dreds of varieties from which to choose, but those varieties 
adapted to soil and climatic conditions should be selected. 
The trees grown successfuly in the community will indicate 
to the buyer what varieties are suitable. The personal tastes 
of the owner and his family will also guide in the selection 
of varieties. 

A few of the standard varieties of fruit for the family 
orchards of the Middle West may be mentioned as follows : 

Apples. Summer Varieties. — Red Astrachan, Yellow Transparent, 
Early Harvest, Duchess of Oldenburg, Red June. 
Fall Varieties. — Wealthy, Maiden's Blush, Fameuse, Grimes, Jona- 
than. 
Winter Varieties. — Rome Beauty, Wine Sap, Salome, York Imper- 
ial, Willow, Stayman, etc. 

Peaches. Elberta, Champion, Crawfords Early, Crawfords Late, 
Heath Cling, Carman. 

Cherries. Early Richmond, Montmorency, Dyehouse, English Mor- 
ello, Tartarian. 

Pears. Kieffer, Flemish Beauty, Bartlett, Howell, Lincoln. 

Plums. Burbank, Damson, Desota, Wild Goose, Abundance, Sur- 
prise. 

Grapes. Moore's Diamond, Niagara (white). Concord, Worden 
(black), Woodruff, Brighton (red). 

Selecting" the young trees. Much* valuable advice is given 
upon buying at the nursery grounds, from nearby nurseries, 
and from carefully inspected st^ck, but the practical thing 
for the farmer to do is to order such varieties as he may 
decide upon from a thoroughly reliable and reputable nursery- 
man, and the chances are that he will get better ^tock than 
he would if he selected the trees himself. The good nursery- 



262 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

man will know that the young trees should not be dug until 
the leaves have nearly all fallen, for this means that the buds 
are well ripened and that the wood is hard and mature. 

Age of trees. Whether it is better to buy straight whips 
one-year-old or more expensive two-year-old apple trees on 
which the main branches are already started, is an unsettled 
question. Professor Alderman, Horticulturist of the College 
of Agriculture of West Virginia, writes on the subject as 
follows : 

''The advantages in favor of the smaller trees are: first, 
cheapness ; second, small root systems which will require only 
a small hole at planting time ; third, the head may be formed 
at any height to suit the grower's fancy; fourth, the root 
systems receive less injury in digging than do those of larger 
trees. 

' ' The advantages of the two-year-olds are : first, trees with 
well-formed heads may be selected, thereby insuring uniform 
and symmetrical orchard trees; second, they will probably 
reach bearing size a year sooner than a one-year-old tree; 
third, it is easier to detect crown gall or hairy root upon 
them than upon yearlings. 

' ' Between the first-class trees of both ages the two-year-old 
are the more desirable. It is, however, sometimes difficult 
to get good two-year-old trees because the nursery block has 
been sorted over the previous year and the best trees sold as 
yearlings. Between a first-class j^earling and' a second grade 
two-year-old, the younger tree would undoubtedly be the 
better. Never buy three or four-year-old trees, because these 
are the culls of previous years which were so weak and small 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 263 

that they had to be grown the extra season or two in order 
to bring them to a marketable size." 

Planting the Trees 

The orchard site. Before planting the fruit trees, it is 
evident that an orchard site must be determined upon. The 
foremost orchard fruit to be considered is, of course, the 
apple, which, in common with such other fruit as the farmer 
is likely to produce, requires a deep, well drained soil. 
Neither apples nor stone fruit will thrive in damp soil. 
Therefore a site should be selected for the orchard that is 
rich in plant-food, with good natural drainage, and as con- 
veniently located with reference to the dwelling as possible. 
A gently sloping side hill is preferable, and, if it is a little 
stony, so much the better. It may not be tilled so easily, 
but the fruit will grow better. On hillside orchard sites there 
is good air drainage; that is, the cooler air settles to the bot- 
tom of the hill and the warmer air rises toward the top. This 
often prevents frost on the higher slopes. 

Laying out the orchard. The ordinary apple tree when 
full grown requires 35 to 40 feet between rows. The trees 
may be set in squares or in triangles. From 25 to 40 trees 
may be planted to the acre, depending upon the distance 
apart and the method of laying out. 

Planting the trees. Fruit trees may be planted either in 
October or April. There has been much discussion as to the 
proper way to prune and set the young tree. Some hold that 
all the tops and roots should be maintained and that the tree 
should be set in the same direction it formerly occupied with 



264 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

reference to the points of the compass. Others say that all 
the branches should be cut off clean and most of the stalk 
also, as well as all of the roots. Common sense would suggest 
a middle ground. The head of the young two-year-old tree 
should be cut back so that three or four side limbs are left 
and these pruned to three or four buds. A central limb 
should be left upon which to form a new set of scaffolding 
limbs for the next season. These side branches become the 
scaffolds upon which the future top is formed. The roots 
should be pruned to six or eight inches, and all broken or 
injured parts removed. 

If the orchard site has been put in good tilth and furrows 
opened up with the plow, little hand digging will be neces- 
sary. If the soil, especially the subsoil, is hard and compact, 
it will be necessary to loosen it up hy digging a hole somewhat 
larger than is necessary to hold the roots of the tree. If the 
ground for the orchard has not or can not be plowed, holes 
from three to four feet in diameter and from one to two 
feet deep should be dug where the young trees are to be set. 
The holes should then be filled with good soil, and the young 
trees planted slightly deeper than they were growing in the 
nursery row. One of the main principles to observe especially 
in planting the tree is to have the earth well firmed about all 
the roots, leaving no air spaces. The ground about the trees 
should be mulched with soil and well rotted manure for 
winter protection, and the trunks of the little trees covered 
with common window screening or some other shield to pro- 
tect them from mice and rabbits. No grass should be allowed 
to grow about the young fruit trees. 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 265 

Care of the Young Trees 

Pruning' the young trees. In the paragraph on planting 
trees in the preceding lesson, the proper method of pruning 
the young apple tree was suggested. This pruning should be 
done in the spring before the leaves start their growth, 
whether the young trees were set in the fall or spring. The 
purpose of the first pruning is to restore the balance between 
root and top, to establish the growth near the trunk of the 
tree or stronger supporting scaffolds, and to form the proper 
height of the head. Formerly it was the practice to start 
the first limbs of the tree four or five feet from the ground. 
Today good orchardists of the East and Middle West head 
their trees from one to tAvo feet from the ground. The ad- 
vantages of low heading are as follows: (1) Being close to 
the ground the trees do not suffer as much from the action 
of the wind. (2) The low branches help to prevent sun-scald 
by shading the trunk. (3) The branches shade the ground 
about the tree and retard the escape of moisture. (4) Prun- 
ing, spraying, thinning, picking, etc., are carried on more 
easily. (5) There is less loss of fruit from windfalls. 

Subsequent pruning in building the tree. The next sea- 
son after setting and pruning a two-year-old tree, two or 
more branches will have grown from each scaffold branch 
left. Growth starting toward the center of the tree should 
be pinched off, and two or three of the year's branches should 
be cut back from one-third to one-half and left to form the 
supports for next season's growth. The central leader and 
its branches should be pruned as was suggested for the two- 



266 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

year-old tree first set out. Continue this system of building 
scaffold upon scaffold of limbs around a central leader until 
three or four sets of limbs are formed, then the subsequent 
pruning should consist in removing superfluous branches, 
those which tend to grow crosswise, and in heading back 
branches which are making too great a growth. Much of the 
necessary training of a tree can be done during the early 
summer by pinching off the growths which later would neces- 
sitate heavier pruning. A moderate pruning each season is 
better than no pruning for two or three years followed by a 
heav>' one which disturbs the equilibrium and starts a growth 
of water sprouts. 

Winter protection of young trees. Sudden and extreme 
changes in temperature occurring during the winter often 
cause an injury to the bark of young trees known as sun- 
scald. The wind often blows the trees about to such an 
extent that a hole is formed in the ground about the base of 
the tree, in which water may stand and freeze with dis- 
astrous results in some cases. 

Mice, rabbits, and wood chucks cause annual and serious 
depredations to thousands of young fruit trees over the 
country. 

In order to prevent losses from such causes as are men- 
tioned above, the young trees for several years after planting 
should be pratected by mounding and wrapping in the fall. 
Details of this work can not be given here, but good judg- 
ment and constant vigilance will guide the orchardist in his 
efforts to save j^oung trees. 

Cultivating the young orchard. The following systems 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 267 

of orchard cultivation are used by fruit growers: sod culture, 
sod mulch, the mulch system, partial cultivation, and clean 
cultivation with cover crops. Sod culture is least desirable of 
all for young orchards, for trees do not make proper growth 
and are much more likely to suffer from rodent and borer 
injuries. Sod mulch consists in cutting the grass and leaving 
it under the trees. It is a little better than the first unless 
a good grow^i of grass is provided. The mulch system con- 
sists in piling about the trees any organic matter, such as 
manure, straw, weeds, etc., which will rot down. If a con- 
siderable amount is used, and it is not piled close up to the 
trunk, this system is very good. In partial cultivation the 
trees are set in plowed strips and the balance of the space 
left in sod. Clean cultivation with cover crops is without 
doubt the best one for the orchardist to follow. By this sys- 
tem the young orchard is plowed or harrowed, and a soil 
mulch maintained by harrowing at intervals of ten days or 
two weeks until the cover crop is sown. Cultivation should 
usually cease about the middle of July, and a cover crop 
of cow-peas, soy beans, clovers, or even rye may be sown. 

Young trees make their wood growth during the period of 
cultivation, and the cover crop coming on later hastens the 
maturity of the wood and mulches the ground as a winter 
protection. When this is plowed under the next spring, the 
physical condition of the soil is improved and elements of 
fertility added and made available for the young fruit trees. 
It should be understood that the main purposes in cultivation 
are to keep the soil loose, to conserve moisture near the sur- 
face, and to facilitate fertilization. 



268 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Renovation of Old Orchards 



Pruning old trees. It is interesting and proper to buy 
and set out yonng fruit trees and to care for them properly, 
but it is well to look to the old apple trees and peach trees 
on the farm. These old trees perhaps have done good service 
to our fathers and mothers, and are now being shamefully 





m 




?^fe :^ 


.# 


^^^^ 


K' tFV'l,' 


^.' ""^^^^ 


p.«.^ 




^■L^fcr^^ 






".-i 


j^^^^^^^^^^H 





FIG. 35. A V^^ELL TRIMMED APPLE TREE 

neglected, though they still try to renew their life with 
each coming season. Let us turn to these old trees with the 
same skill and labor which we are willing to bestow upon 
young trees, and they will repay us by abundant yields before 
our young trees have blossomed. 

The first step in the rejuvenation of an old orchard is to 
cut down the tops of the old trees from one-third to one- 
half. The guiding principle in this rather severe operation 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 



269 



is to cut always just above a live limb, leaving no stub to 
die, and to paint over the cut surface with white lead, creosote, 
or any paint solution, to prevent decay. The dead and dying 
branches should be removed and all such branches should 
be cut close to the main stem from which they arise. All 
branches running crosswise or toward the center of the tree 
should be removed. The rough bark should be scraped off 
the trunks, and the old fashioned practice of white-washing 
or soap-suds-washing the trunk is not a bad one. 




PIG. 36. SPRAYING LARGE TREES 



After such a severe pruning as recommended above, the 
new life of the tree will manifest itself in a vigorous growth 
of water sprouts in various places over the tree. Most of 
these water sprouts should be cut away the next season, 
except a few which should be left and pruned back to form 



270 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

new branches. This method is especially successful with old 
peach trees. 

Spraying the orchard. Perhaps the next step in the re- 
juvenation of the old orchard is to spray. Before the leaf 
and fruit buds open in the spring, the trees should be sprayed 
with a commercial lime-sulphur solution, diluted one gallon 
to nine or ten of water. This spray is effective against San 
Jose scale, apple scab, and several other fungous diseases 
living over the winter on the limbs and twigs of the trees. 
As soon as the apple blossoms fall, the next spraying should 
be given. This consists of a fungicide and insecticide com- 
bined, commercial lime-sulphur, one and one-half gallons di- 
luted to 50 gallons with water, to which is added two pounds 
of lead arsenate in solution. This spray is used to combat 
fruit scab, blotch, leaf rusts and other diseases, as well as the 
codling moth and other chewing insects such as the canker 
worm, tent caterpillar, curculios, etc. The lead arsenate is 
the insecticide, and the lime-sulphur the fungicide. If this 
spraying is done thoroughly, it may not be necessary to spray 
again that season in order to secure a good crop of fruit. 
It is often advisable, however, to repeat the second spraying 
in three or four weeks, and again about the last of July to 
combat the second brood of codling moth. An ordinary fifty- 
gallon barrel spray pump for the farm home orchard will 
do the work well. 

Cultivating and fertilizing the orchard. If the soil in the 
old orchard is poor and has not been cultivated for many 
years, a top-dressing of stable manure and lime worked into 
the soil will help to renew it. Many old orchards have been 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 



271 



successfully rejuvenated by dynamiting the ground about 
the old trees. If it is not practical to do this, the next best 
method is to use the mulch system : cut all grass, hay, weeds, 
etc., and pile with strawy manure under the limbs of the 
trees. This will help to retain the moisture and, by its decay, 
fertilize the soil. 

Top-working the old orchard. Often the old apple trees 
are not of a very good variety, or there aie not enough 
varieties to serve the best home uses. It is then possible to 
graft upon the tops of these old trees scions from the desired 




FIG. 37. A. WAXING THE STUB 



varieties. The stock upon which the graft is to be made may 
be from one-half to an inch and a half in diameter. This 
stock should be cut clean and squarely across and a cleft 
made down the stub to hold the scions. Scions from one- 
year-old branches on bearing trees of the desired variety 



272 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



should be cut for graft. Two scions, each containing three 
buds, should be placed with the cambium layers in contact 
in the cleft of the stock, and the whole exposed cut surface 
then covered with grafting wax. 




FIG. 37. B. TIPPING THE GRAFT WITH WAX 

If both grafts grow, one may be removed to allow room 
for the other. 



Types of Fruit 

Tree fruits. The common farm orchard tree fruits belong 
to two classes: the pomaceous fruits, including the apple, 
pear, quince, etc., and the drupaceous or stone fruits, includ- 
ing the peach, plum, cherry, etc. The pome fruits contain 
several seeds encased in parchment-like cells in a central core. 
The drupe fruits contain a single seed in a single stony pit, 
all within the edible pulp of the fruit. The leafy parts of 
the flower of the pome types are borne upon the fruit. In 
the drupe types they are borne on the flower stem below the 
fruit. Horticulturists note other differences between these 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 



273 



two types, but these are sufficient for our purposes in school. 

The apple. The apple is the most important American 

fruit. It may be obtained fresh and ripe throughout the 

whole year. The apple tree is one of the longest lived and 




FIG. 37. C. THE OPERATION WAS SUCCESSFUL 



largest of our fruit trees. It will begin bearing about the 
fifth year of its age, and if properly cared for will bear for 
nearly a century. It is grown in almost every part of the 
United States. Great improvement has been made in develop- 
ing new and excellent varieties of apples since the day when 
all apples were small, worthless sour crabs. 

The peach. The peach is one of our most delicious fruits. 



274 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

The peach tree begins to bear when three or four years of 
age, and will bear for many years if properly cared for. 
The peach is not so hardy as the apple and succeeds well only 
in certain localities. Wherever the winter is not too cold 
for the trees, however, every farmer should grow peach trees 
enough to provide fruit for the family. The fruit of the peach 
is grown upon the shoots that grew the season before, while 
that of the apple is gro^^^l on spurs two or more years old. 

Common Orchard Pests 

Insect pests. Orchard trees need constant protection 
against harmful insects and fungous diseases. Special knowl- 
edge of each insect and of each kind of fruit is needed to 
combat successfully these pests. The best protection against 
orchard pests is given by spraying the trees with water con- 
taining some substance that destroys the pest without injur- 
ing the trees. The subject of spraying was discussed briefly 
in a former paragraph. 

Insects injure fruit trees in three ways: by eating the 
foliage, by sucking the juice from the tree, and by boring 
into the fruit or body of the tree. The loss of our fruit each 
year, due to insects and diseases, runs far into millions of 
dollars. 

Codling moth. The great arch enemy of the apple is the 
codling moth. The caterpillar form of this moth lives in the 
apple and is commonly known as the apple worm. The moth 
lays its eggs on the foliage in the spring a week or two after 
the blossoms fall, and the eggs hatch into the apple worms, 
which usually enter the fruit at the blossom end. The cod- 



I 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 275 

ling moth has two generations in a season, and when the 
worm or larva of the second generation leaves the apple, it 
hides for the winter in a silken cocoon, usually under the 
scale of the bark of the apple tree. The moth emerges from 
this cocoon the next spring soon after the blossoms drop. If 
you should look behind the loose bark of the apple tree now, 
you would probably find the silken cocoons of the apple worm. 
Woodpeckers and nuthatches find these cocoons and destroy 
them in great numbers. These birds should never be killed, 
as they are doing a good work in destroying the worms that 
would otherwise spoil many apples. 

Curculio. Apples, plums, and cherries are often injured 
by an insect called the curculio. This insect punctures the 
skin of the fruit and lays its eggs in it. The eggs hatch 
into grubs that live until they are full grown. This causes 
the fruit to be ''wormy" and to drop before ripening. 

San Jose scale. The common enemy of all fruit trees is 
the San Jose scale. About all the structure the insect has 
is a long beak and a big stomach. It is entirely covered with 
a waxy scale, giving the branch upon which great numbers 
coUect an ashy color. The scale insects suck the sap from 
the living bark and cause the tree to die. There are four 
or five broods in a season, and the young scales live dormant 
through the winter. The oyster-shell scale is common on the 
apple and peach tree, but, having only one generation in 
a season, the injury done by it is not so serious. 

Yellows. The peach is subject to a disease called * fel- 
lows." This disease has entirely destroyed whole orchards 
of trees. No remedy is known for it but to dig out and burn 



276 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the affected trees. The flesh of peaches having this disease is 
usually marked hy red lines or splashes beneath reddish 
spots on the surface of the fruit. Fruits showing these char- 
acteristics usually ripen prematurely. A second symptom, 
or the first in trees not bearing fruit, is the short tip growth 
of narrow, stiff, yellowish leaves nearly at right angles to 
the stem. In the final stage of the disease there is a small 
slender growth of all new wood, and a profusion of branchy 
growths in the center of the tree. 

Fungous diseases. Evidences of fungous diseases may be 
seen in every orchard. There is the brown rot of the peach, 
and the bitter rot of the apple; the apple scab and blotch, 
dark brown or black splotches on the fruit; rusts, yellowish 
spots on the leaves; blight of the foliage of the apple and 
pear, in which the foliage appears burned; the black knot of 
the plum, hard, woody black knots on the twigs ; the mildew 
of the grape, a powdery mould on the leaves ; and the cankers 
of the branches, dead, sunken spots on the bark and sap- 
wood of the trunk or branches. The practical way to com- 
bat these diseases in the fall of the year is to cut away and 
destroy all diseased parts and mummied fruit, for through 
them the spores will spread to infect the next season's fruit. 
Bordeaux Mixture and lime-sulphur are the sprays for such 
diseases. 

Packing and Storing Fruit 

In the business of fruit growing the orchardist is con- 
cerned with the picking, packing, storing, and marketing of 
the fruit, but the boys and girls who study these lessons will 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 277 

be interested only in the operations of picking and storing 
the fruits on the farm. 

Picking fruit. It is too often the practice on the farm 
to pick the apples from the ground after tliey have been 
knocked or shaken from the tree. No wonder the fruit gath- 
ered and stored by such methods fails to keep for any length 
of time. Where the frait is bruised or the skin broken, the 
spores of the rot are sure to enter and cause the fruit to 
decay. All fruit to be stored or marketed should be hand- 
picked and carefully handled to prevent bruises and the 
consequent early decay. In the case of apples, it is gener- 
ally best to pick them just as they have reached their full size 
and when they have attained their full color. The best time 
to pick a pear is just as soon as it reaches its full size and 
before it has begun to color. The pear may be taken in one 
hand and turned up, and if the stem snaps off from the 
spur the fruit is ripe enough to pick. A peach is ripe enough 
to pick when it is full grown and has reached its characteristic 
color. In the case of cherries and plums, the fruit should 
be picked just before it has reached the best edible condition. 

How to pick the tree fruits. In picking the tree fruits 
it is best to use a basket fastened to the body of the picker 
in some way so that he may have the free use of both hands. 
The basket may be hung upon the ladder or the limbs by a 
*vire hook, if the fruit does not have to be dropped too far 
to rgach it. If the baskets are lined on the inside with thick 
cloth or burlap, they will be better for the purpose and 
save many bruises to the fruit. In picking apples it is nearly 
always essential to have long and light ladders with peaked 



278 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

tops, which can be run up into the tops of the trees and 
rest against the branches. In orchards where trees are prop- 
erly pruned a step-ladder is often all that will be required. 

Handling the fruit. After fruit is picked it is very im- 
portant that it should be kept cool and away from direct 
sun. Apples ripen very rapidly in the pile if they are 
exposed to the direct rays of the sun. The best results are 
obtained when apples are taken directly from the trees to a 
cool room and then kept in storage, where the ripening proc- 
ess is checked. When tree fruits are to be sold on the mar- 
kets, they are usually sorted into three classes: first grade, 
second grade, and culls. First-grade apples are carefully 
placed in bushel boxes or in barrels, according to some system 
of packing, such as is here shown in the illustration, and sold 
on the markets of the world. In this lesson, however, we are 
concerned only with the storing of fruit in the home cellar, 
and not with commercial packing and storing. 

Home storage of fruit. The home storage is generally a 
cellar, a half -cellar, or a building entirely above ground. An 
ordinary house cellar, if it has good ventilation and is not 
too dry, or too wet, or too warm, answers very well for the 
storage of fruit. It is best, however, both for the purpose 
of storage and for health, that the fruit cellar should be 
separate from the dwelling house. 

The requisites of a good storage cellar are: protection 
from frost, uniform temperature at about 40 degrees, facili- 
ties for ventilation, and air moist enough to prevent evapora- 
tion. In cellars which are too dry the fruit should be left 
in closed packages, but if the air is moist and the temperature 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 279 

low, the fruit may be packed in shallow racks or traj^s. It 
is well to go through the fruit package several times and sort 
out the over-ripe or decayed specimens, or they will rot and 
spread contamination to the rest of the package. The fruit 
stored in the home cellar will keep much longer and in better 
condition if each apple is wrapped in paper of some kind. 

Notebook Questions 

1. Give three reasons why a farmer should have an orchard 
and take good care of it. 

2. List three good varieties each of apples ripening in 
early summer, early autumn, and for winter storage. 

3. What conditions in young nursery stock should be in- 
spected carefully before the trees are planted? 

4. What are factors determining the location of the or- 
chard ? 

5. How should the ground be prepared for the trees? 

6. What conditions should receive special care in planting 
young trees ? 

7. Name three purposes in pruning young trees. 

8. Why should a young orchard be cultivated ? 

9. How may an old orchard be revived and made profit- 
able? 

10. What are the sprays used and when applied for San 
Jose scale, codling moth, fruit scab, and rot? 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

Report on the home orchard. Let each pupil make a re- 
port on the home orchard according to the following out- 
line, and tabulate his observations. 



280 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Name 


No. 


Age 


Amount 


General 


of Variety 


of Trees 


of Trees 


of Fruit 
Yielded 


Condition 
of Trees 













Examining nursery stock. In time before this exercise 
the teacher should send to some nursery for a dozen or more 
yearling and two-year-old apple trees. These may possibly 
be obtained free for school purposes, or at a special price. 
Pupils should make note of at least six little trees as follows : 



Length 



Age 


Root 

System 







Condition 
of Graft or Bud 



Thriftiness 



Save the trees to plant for later studies. 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 281 

Laying out a young orchard. Procure two lengths of com- 
mon fencing wire, each 35 feet long. Fasten rings three or 
four inches in diameter at the ends of each wire. 

Go to the school yard or adjacent field and lay out a small 
orchard plot,- as follows: 

Let two boys, one at each end of a wire, lay off a base 
line, six or seven lengths of the wire, driving stakes at each 
35-foot point. Now let one boy hold one end of the wire 
over the first stake, a second boy hold one end of the second 
wire over the second stake, and a third boy hold the other 
ends of both wires, and where the ends of the wires meet a 
stake should be driven to locate the first tree in the second row 
to be planted. The boys should move down the base line, 
locating the trees in this triangular system in the second row, 
which becomes the base line for the third row, and so on 
until the orchard is laid out thus: 







Planting the trees. Tf the nursery stock has been pro- 
vided, as suggested in the last lesson, the young trees should 
be planted by the class in one part of the school yard not used 
for a playground. Observe all the principles discussed above 
in planting these trees. If the school grounds are not large 
enough for this purpose, arrangements may be made to have 
the pupils assist in planting some trees on a nearby farm. 

Pruning young trees. With specimens of young apple 
trees two or three years of age, either in the field or in the 
laboratory, practice pruning according to the principles dis- 
cussed in the foregoing paragraphs. 

Protecting young trees. Go with the class to a young 
orchard and let members of the class wra>p the young tree- 



282 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

trunks to protect them from winter injuries. Use cornstalks, 
building paper, wood veneering, window screening, or any 
convenient wrapping material. 

Pruning an old apple tree. Go with the class to an old 
orchard where the trees have been neglected and have grown 
tall and unshapely. Let one or two boys with pruning saws 
go into the top of the tree and cut the limbs according to 
the teacher's directions. Follow the principles discussed in 
preceding paragraphs, and prune one tree as a demonstra- 
tion. 

Spraying demonstration. If the school does not have a 
spray pump, perhaps it could be arranged in the community 
for a demonstration to be given for the benefit of the class 
at some home orchard. Mix and apply the spray in the 
presence of the class as described on page 270. 

Exercises in grafting. The pupils studying this lesson 
should either go to some tree and practice top-grafting, as 
suggested in the paragraph on grafting, or bring twigs of 
apple trees into the schoolroom and make the grafts. See 
various texts for full explanation of the cleft graft and of 
making grafting wax. 

Observational studies of fruits. Let each pupil have an 
apple and note the following points. Write out the descrip- 
tion. 

1. The blossom end and the stem end. 

2. The depression at the blossom end is called the basin. 

3. Color and markings. 

4. Shape and size. 

5. Nature of blemishes, if any. 

6. Cut through the center of the apple across the core. 
How many seed cells are there? How are they arranged? 
How many seeds in each cell? Observe the parchment-like 
walls of the cell. 

7. Make a drawing of a cross section of the apple. 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 



283 



8. Make a drawing of a vertical section of the apple. 

A good method of sketching the outline of the apple sec- 
tions is to mark with an indelible pencil on the edge of the 
cut surface of the apple, and then press the cut surface down 
on the paper. The outline of the apple will be clearly defined. 

Let each pupil examine a peach and compare its structure 
with that of the apple, noting the above points. Crack the 
stone of a peach and observe the kernel within. If practical, 
make similar studies of the plum, cherry, pear, and quince. 

Judging" apples. If you have ever visited a county or 
state fair, you will remember seeing the display of plates 
of fine apples, bearing the blue or red ribbons to indicate 
first and second prizes. In a plate of first-class show apples 
all the fruit should be uniform in size, shape, color, and 
absolutely free from any kind of blemish. Unless fruit has 
been thinned, sprayed, properly picked and handled, it is not 
likely that first-class apples can be exhibited. 

Each pupil should bring a plate of four or five apples as 
nearly first-class as he can get. Arrange the plates of apples 
on a table before the class, and let each pupil score and mark 
all the plates of apples. Use the following score-card : 



Owner of the Exhibit Date, 



Points Noted 



Uniformity of exhibit. . . 

Size of fruit 

Color 

Form 

Quality 

Freedom from blemishes. 



Total 



Perfect 
Score 



20 
15 
15 
15 
15 
20 



100 



Pupil's 
Score 



Teacher's 
Score 



284 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Orchard studies of insects and fungous diseases. If prac- 
tical let the teacher and the class go to an orchard and look 
for insects and fungous diseases. Look under the bark and 
in the crevices for codling moth larvae, and on young branches 
for San Jose scale. Examine fallen fruit for curculio stings 
and apple worms. Look for apple scab, apple rust, brown 
rot, black rot, and other diseases. i\Iake note of all observa- 
tions and report in class for the next recitation. 




FIG. 38. PACKING FOR THE MARKET 

Reports of orchards of the community. Let each pupil 
select an apple orchard in the community and make a report 
based upon his study of the following points : 

(a) Size of the orchard. 

(b) Location, site, and topography. 

(c) Number and varieties of trees. 



FRUIT GROWING ON THE FARM 285 

(d) Planting plan. 

(e) Soil, and soil management. 

(f) Drainage. 

(g) Intercropping, 
(h) Fertilizers used, 
(i) Pruning done. 

(j) Orchard pests common. 

(k) Sprajdng done. 

(1) Estimated amount of fruit. 

(m) Disposition of the fruit. 

Decay in apples. Select three ripe apples of the same 
variety and of equal degree of ripeness and bring them before 
the class. 

Strike against the side of one so as to bruise the surface 
without breaking the skin. 

Bruise the second apple so that the skin is broken. 

Leave the third apple uninjured. 

Place the three apples away somewhere in the room where 
they will not be disturbed, and observe the results from day 
to day. 

Which apple decays first? 

Of what use V3 the skin of the apple? 

Note — It should be understood that lists of trees and shrubs to be 
planted in special localities not having the average conditions 
described for the central Middle West, should be secured from the 
experiment station of the state wherein the school is located. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE HOME GARDEN 

Vegetable Gardening 

Factors in locating the home garden. There are several 
important factors in locating the home garden. Convenience 
to the house is one of them. A southern or southeastern slope 
will give the best results with earlj^ vegetables. It should not 
be too steep, however, for the crops may then suffer from 
the drought and the heat of summer, and the land will be 
likely to wash. It is desirable to have lower ground below 
the garden in order to allow for air and water drainage. If 
the ground is not well drained naturally, it should, of course, 
be tile-drained. In a level country it would be weU to pro- 
vide some protection in the way of trees or buildings on the 
northern side. These, however, should not be too close to 
the garden. The kind of soil is important. With most vege- 
tables sandy loam will give the best results. One should not 
despair, however, if he does not have the ideal soil, for most 
of the common vegetables adapt themselves to a wide range 
of soils. Where the slope of the site or the type of soil varies 
appreciably, one should plant the crops accordingly. For 
instance, sweet potatoes should be planted on the higher and 
drier places, and they do best in clay loam; watermelons like 

286 



THE HOME GARDEN 287 

a sand ridge; cucumbers and celery prefer the low, damp 
ground. 

The mechanical preparation of the garden soil. The ideal 
garden soil preparation is to manure and plow the land in 
the fall. This practice will aid in rotting the manure and 
any other organic matter that might be turned under. It 
also helps to destroy injurious insects, diseases, and Aveeds, 
and to improve the physical texture of the soil. If 
the land ia- naturally loose, it need not be plowed again in 
the spring, especially for the early short-season crops. In 
such case, disking or deep cultivation will be sufficient. If 
the earth is tight, or even in the case of loose textured soil 
which has become much packed during the winter, it is bet- 
ter to plow again in the spring. 

The seed-bed. The best w^ay to prepare a seed-bed is as 
follows : first, disk and harrow ; then plow, disk, and har- 
row in order, until the ground is thoroughly pulverized and 
properly compacted. A drag should be* used if necessary 
to convert the surface to a finely pulverized condition. In 
this connection the compacting of the soil should be empha- 
sized. Many people fail to work the soil sufficiently because 
they fear it will become packed. This is a mistake, as most 
plants need a somewhat compact soil in order to be able to 
gain a foothold. The above method will insure a fine pul- 
verization of the soil to the full depth of the plowing, and 
a sufficiently compact soil as well. 

Some vegetables can not be planted until May or June. 
In the case of land to be devoted to such crops, a shallow 
mulch should be maintained until planting time. This will 



288 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

save the moisture and make the preparation of the soil much 
easier, a fact to be considered. 

Fertilizing" the garden. For the vegetable garden manure 
is the best general fertilizer. It should be applied in the fall 
and turned under. If, however, it is applied in the spring, 
it should be well-rotted manure. Kotted manure is some- 
times used for top-dressing purposes for the growing crops. 
Lime should be used every few years, as the large amount of 
decaying organic matter in vegetable lands is constantly caus- 
ing the formation of acids in the soil. Crop refuse, unless 
affected with some serious disease or insect, should always 
be turned under in preference to removing or burning it. 
The garden is a good place to burn all trash that accumu- 
lates about the yard or farm. The ashes add both potassium 
and lime. Any organic matter that will rot easily and quickly 
should be plowed under, and leaves, branches, etc. should be 
burned. If manure is scarce, one can groAV cow-peas, soy 
beans, or rye to help keep up the supply of organic matter. 

Commercial fertilizers can often be used effectively in the 
garden. For nitrogen, sodium nitrate is usually the best 
form. It should be applied as a top dressing to the growing 
plants, using 80 to 100 pounds, per acre, and applying at 
intervals of ten days to two weeks. The nitrate should be 
scattered about the plants, taking care that none gets on the 
leaves. It should be cultivated into the soil. It may also be 
spread broadcast before or during a rain. The number of 
applications will depend upon the length of the growing sea- 
son for the crop treated. In case of crops which, bear fruit. 



THE HOME GARDEN 289 

it is not well to continue the applications of sodium nitrate 
too long, as it may stimulate vine growth at the expense of 
fruit production. Dried blood may also be used as a source 
of nitrogen. Nitrogen in dried blood is not so subject to 
loss by drainage waters as that in sodium nitrate. When 
this is employed, it may be applied in relatively large amounts 
at the beginning of the season. 

Steamed bone-meal is a good form of phosphorus for the 
vegetable garden, although the phosphorus may be supplied 
much more cheaply by using raw rock phosphate, providing 
it is applied two or three years in advance. The use of acid 
phosphate is more justifiable in vegetaMe growing where quick 
results are desired than in general farming, though it carries 
with it some acid. If lime is applied every two or three years, 
it will correct any acidity that may accumulate in the soil. 

Sulphate of potassium is a good form of potassium. This 
element, while abundant in most soils, will frequently cause 
added yields, especially in the case of root crops. Wood 
ashes are always good to use, and all the wood ashes which 
accumulate on the farm should be carefully stored away 
under cover so that no leaching will occur. Wood ashes will 
not give better results anywhere than in the vegetable gar- 
den. Coal ashes have no value as a fertilizer, though they can 
often be used effectively in helping to loosen a tight soil. 

Laying out the home garden. Upon the laying out of the 
garden will depend largely the ease of tending and the 
most profitable use of the land. The vegetables should be 
planted in long rows rather than in patches. If not enough 



290 A Yii;AK IJN AGUlCUKrUKiiJ 

of one vegetable is used to plant a whole row, two or three 
kinds may be grown in a single row. The planting should 
be started on one side of the garden and should proceed across 
it with the season. It is hard to work up the soil if patches 
are left between beds of growing vegetables. The coarser 
crops that are cultivated with horse tools should be grouped 
together as nearly as possible. The finer crops that are 
tended with wheel hoes should also be placed together. The 
tall growing and the low growing crops should be grouped 
with their kind, so far as conditions will permit. The vine 
crops should be planted together. Crops that are planted 
at the same time and which require about the same length of 
season to mature should be placed together. This will allow 
for the best use of the land for a second crop. The matter 
of succession should not be overlooked. Usually the suc- 
cession crops can be planted where other vegetables have been 
grown earlier in the season. The properly planned garden 
will not only be easy to tend, but will facilitate the produc- 
tion of crops throughout the growing season. 

Selecting varieties and getting good seed. The selection 
of the proper varieties is one of the most important features 
in vegetable gardening, because, no matter how well other 
factors may be attended to, they may come to naught if the 
wrong varieties are selected. It is always best to place the 
main dependence upon the standard and proved varieties. 
''Novelties" should be used for trial only until they have 
proved themselves, no matter how enticing they may appear 
in the seed catalogs. One should pay particular attention 



THE HOME GARDEN 291 

to selecting varieties that are adapted to the season in which 
they arc grown ; for instance, one would not want to use the 
same variety of sweet corn for the early crop that he would 
use for the main season crop. 

Seeds should be purchased from a reliable seedsman, one 
who expects to stay in the business and who has a reputation 
to maintain. 

Early season and late season plants. There is perhaps no 
feature in vegetable gardening regarding which more mis- 
takes are made than the time of planting the various crops. 
Most people do not realize that the thirty or forty common 
vegetables which anyone can name in a few minutes were 
brought here from all parts of the earth, and that we can 
succeed in growing them here by furnishing them somewhat 
similar conditions to those under which they originated and 
developed. Naturally, coming from many widely different 
climates, each crop has its special temperature and moisture 
requirements. We recognize this tendency by growing them 
during a time of the year best suited to their needs, and by 
planting them in moist or dry locations according to their 
preferences. Happily, the thirty or forty different vege- 
tables divide themselves into groups according to the tem- 
perature and moisture requirements, so that, instead of it 
being a problem of remembering thirty or forty different 
cultural methods, we may reduce the number to a vet'y few 
by dividing the vegetables into groups. 

All vegetables may be divided into two general groups, 
cool-season and warm-season groups. The cool-season crops 



292 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



are those which originated in temperate climates, and the 
warm-season crops are those which originated in the tropical 
and subtropical regions. 

Planting table. The folloAving table takes into account 
the seasonal requirements of the various crops, and also indi- 
cates the varieties that should be planted at different times. 
There are other varieties which could, no doubt, be well added 
to this list, but those named can be depended upon in gen- 
eral to give satisfaction. By selecting the varieties named 
and planting them as nearly as possible at the times men- 
tioned, taking into consideration the latitude of the place 
in which they are grawn, the various vegetables can be had 
at all times of the year when it is possible to grow them. 

Planting Dates and Varieties Recommended for 
Farmers' Vegetable Gardens in Illinois 

By C. E. Durst, Associate in Olericulture, University of Illinois 

Note — Tlie times for planting named are especially adapted for 
central Illinois; in southern Illinois plant early crops from one to 
two weeks earlier in each case, and in northern Illinois about one 
week later. 



Planting 
Dates 


Crop 


Varieties Suggested for 
Illinois Planting 


Perennial 
Crops 


Asparagus 
Rhubarb 
Winter Onions 


Palmetto. (Plant one year old roots in 

early spring.) 
Victoria or Linnaeus. (Divide old roots 

and plant in early spring.) 
Egyptian. (Replant the sets each year 

about September 1.) 



THE HOME GARDEN 



293 



Planting 


Crop 


Varieties Suggested for 


Dates 


Illinois Planting 




Potatoes 


Early Ohio. 




Peas 


Alaska (climbing), American Wonder 
(dwarf). 




Onion Sets 


Yellow Bottom. 




Onion Seed 


Southport Yellow Globe, Southport 
White Globe. 


April 1 


Beets 


Crosby's Egyptian. 




Turnips 


Early Purple Top Milan. 




Carrots 


Chantenay or Half Long. 




Parsnips 


Hollow Crown or Improved Guernsey. 




Parsley 


Double Curled. 




Radishes 


Early Scarlet Turnip, White Strausburg. 




Spinach 


Victoria or Long Standing. 




Leaf Lettuce 


Black Seeded Simpson. 




Radishes 


White Strausburg. 




Head Lettuce 


May King. (Start plants in hotbed 
March 1.) 




Peas 


American Wonder or Gradus (climbing). 


April 10 


Cabbage 


Early Jersey Wakefield or Copenhagen 
Market. (Start plants in hotbed 
March 1.) 




Cauliflower 


Burpee's Dry Weather. (Start plants in 






hotbed March 1.) 




Cabbage 


Early Summer. (Start plants in hotbed 
about March 15.) 


Mayl 


String Beans 


Davis White Wax, Stringless Green Pod. 




Sweet Corn 


Golden Bantam, White Cob Cory, White 
Evergreen or Country Gentleman. 




Tomatoes 


Chalk's Jewel, Stone, Bonnie Best. 
(Start plants March 1 in hotbeds.) 




Lima Beans 


Henderson's Bush, Lima. 




Cucumber 


White Spine or Henderson's Perfected. 


May 15 


Summer Squash 


Fordhook, Giant Crookneck. 




Winter Squash 


Hubbard. 




Watermelons 


Halbert Honey or Kleckley Sweet. 




Muskmelons 


Notted Gem, Hoodo, Osage, Rocky Ford. 




Sweet Corn 


White Evergreen or Country Gentleman. 



294 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Dates 
Planting 


Crop 


Varieties Suggested for 
Illinois Planting 


Junel 


Eggplants 

Pepper 
String Beans 
Sweet Potato 


New York Improved Purple. (Start 

plants in hotbed March 15.) 
Chinese Giant, Red Cluster. 
Stringless Green Pod, Saddleback Wax. 
Yellow Jersey. 


June 15 


Sweet Corn 
Late Potato 
Late Cabbage 
Cucumbers 


White Evergreen or Country Gentleman. 

Rural New Yorker. 

Flat Dutch, Danish Ball Head. 

(For pickles.) White Spine. 


Julyl 


Celery 

Beans 
Sweet Corn 


Golden Self Blanching Giant Pascal. 

(Start plants in frames about April 1.) 
Stringless Green Pod, Saddleback Wax. 
White Evergreen or Country Gentleman. 


July 25 


Turnips 
Beans 


Red Top Strap Leaf. 

Stringless Green Pod, Saddleback Wax. 


August 15 


Winter Radish 
Fall Spinach 


Chinese White, Long Black Spanish. 
Dwarf Siberian. 



Seed sowing. The importance of planting good seed can 
hardly be overestimated. Upon the selection of the seed often 
depends the success or failure of the crop. The most impor- 
tant factors determining the quality of the seed are life and 
adherence to name and type. Good seed is expected to be 
reasonably free from weed seeds and dirt, but the grower 
should be sure his seed is clean before planting it. The best 
practice is to plant fresh seeds, preferably not more than 
one year old. Seeds should be stored in tight bags in cool, 
dry places. Successful seed sowing requires a thoroughly 
prepared seed-bed. The more thorough the preparation of 
the seed-bed, the less work is required to keep the ground in 



THE HOME GARDEN 295 

condition during the growing season. In the home garden 
the seeds are usually planted by hand by dropping them in 
the hills or furrows previously prepared. After planting, the 
soil should be firmed by pressing it down with the back of 
the hoe. For the best and quickest results, seed should be 
planted in freshh^ prepared ground. 

Advisability of the hotbed. Hotbeds are practically indis- 
pensable in the making of a good vegetable garden. Their 
greatest use is in starting plants for outdoor crops. By 
their help one can have earlier crops in the case of some 
vegetables, and, what is more important, he can grow some 
crops which could not otherwise be grown, as long season 
crops like eggplants and sweet potatoes, etc. They can also 
be used for growing such crops as lettuce or radishes to full 
maturity out of their season. 

Principles of successful transplanting". Transplanting, 
while it must always be looked upon as more or less injurious 
to the plants, is a necessity in vegetable gardening. It is 
used principally for inducing earliness; it also enables us 
to grow such crops, for instance, as eggplants which other- 
wise require too long a season. After getting a good start in 
a hotbed or frame, plants may later be removed to freshly 
worked soil, without having to battle with bad weather and 
adverse soil conditions when they can least endure them. 

The time of planting the seeds will depend altogether upon 
the crop grown. The operations will be facilitated if the 
seeds are sown in shallow flats, which may be carried about 
as desired. When the plants have begun to show their first 
pair of true leaves, they should be shifted; that is, taken up 



296 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

from the seed flat and planted in other flats or in pots where 
they are given greater freedom. In the case of eggplants and 
head lettuce, which do not transplant easily, it is better to 
handle the plants in pots than in flats, for they transplant 
to the open more readily and their root system is injured less. 
Cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, and toma- 
toes can be very well handled in flats, or they may be trans- 
planted to the open bed. Onions are sometimes started in 
the hotbed in order to secure a larger bulb, but they are 
seldom transplanted. Beets are often started in greenhouses 
or hotbeds by ma,rket gardeners to secure an earlier crop. 

A short time previous to planting in the field, the plants 
should be transferred to a cold frame so that they may 
' ' harden off. ' ' A cold frame is like a hotbed with the excep- 
tion that, it has no bottom heat. "Hardening off" means 
accustoming the plants to the open weather conditions and to 
the relatively dry open field conditions, so that they will not 
suffer from the transfer to the open. The cold frame is cov- 
ered for the first few nights and is left open on all except 
cool days. Gradually the plants are exposed to colder and 
colder weather, until finally the covers are left off altogether 
for a few days or a week previous to transplanting to the 
field. The plants should receive sufficient water to keep them 
from dying, but gradually the amount of water applied 
should be reduced while they are in the cold frame, so that 
finally they will get along with the normal rain supply. 

It is always desirable to let the soil become rather dry for 
several days before transplanting. This, coupled with the 
exposure of the plants to cold nights, will harden the tissues 



THE HOME GARDEN 297 

and fit them for transfer to the open soil. A few hours before 
the actual transplanting, the soil should be heavily watered. 
The plants, being ''thirsty," will take up enough water to 
fill their tissues, in which condition they will be able to allow 
more transpiration. The plants should not be removed from 
the frames until the soil has become mellow. Puddling the 
soil by working it while wet should always be avoided. As 
large a part of the root system should be removed with the 
plant as possible, and it is well to take as much soil with the 
roots as will cling to them. 

In transplanting plants to the field one should firm the 
soil about the roots thoroughly. If a plant is properly trans- 
planted, watering in the field is scarcely ever necessary, but 
in the home garden one will insure a stand if he takes no 
chances and waters the plants. "When water is applied, it is 
alv/ays best to pour it into a basin made about the plant, allow- 
ing it to disappear, and then covering the wet surface with 
mellow, loose soil. 

The principal factor in causing the death of plants is an 
excessive transpiration from the leaves. The removal of a 
part of the top of the plant will reduce the transpiration and 
often save the plants during a dry period. Not all plants 
can be "sheared," but onions, beets, celery, and, to a certain 
extent, cabbage will allow this method. The best implement 
for transplanting, everything considered, is a pair of human 
hands. Other serviceable tools are the garden trowel, the 
dibber, and the spade. In commercial gardening, a trans- 
planting machine which sets the plants as fast as a team of 
horses draws the machine is often used. 



298 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Thinning vegetables. Plants must have sufficient room if 
they are to develop properly. All excessive plants are noth- 
ing less than weeds. "With many vegetable crops the plant- 
ing is done in such a way as to give the plants room. Cab- 
bage, tomatoes, sweet com, and beans are examples. With 
most of the small seeded crops, however, the seeding is usually 
liberally done on account of the weak embryo and the sus- 
ceptibility of the young plants to the weather and soil con- 
ditions. Market gardeners even go so far as to test the seeds 
in advance and plant accordingly, so as to insure a good stand 
and yet prevent overcrowding. In this way little thinning is 
necessary. 

The vegetables commonly planted in drills in the field and 
which require thinning are beets, parsnips, parsley, salsify, 
and onions. Melons and cucumbers are often planted thickly 
in the hill and thinned when the plants have become well 
started. The thinning of plants which are started indoors 
and transplanted to the open field is accomplished by shift- 
ing the plants to other fiats or pots, as already explained, and 
planting them in the field one in a place. The thinning of 
all crops should be done as early as the size of the plants 
will permit. In case of onions, since some size will be reached 
before the plants wi-U pull out without breaking off, the 
thinning may be delayed. Thinning of the crops insures 
specimens of larger and more uniform size, and a much 
greater percentage of the product is marketable or usable. 

Cultivation. The control of weeds and the provision of a 
soil mulch is the most important work in the cultivation of 
the garden. Some people even doubt if cultivation has much 



THE HOME GARDEN 299 

value if there are no weeds. After each rain, as soon as the 
ground will permit, a shallow soil mulch should be made and 
the crust broken up. 

Garden tools. Every gardener should have a w^heel hoe. 
It will make gardening a pleasure instead of a drudgery. 
There are two kinds: The single wheel used between the 
rows, the best use of which is insured when the rows of vege- 
tables are planted exactly parallel; and the double wheel 
hoe, W'hich, like the two-horse cultivator, straddles the row 
and cultivates both sides at once. This is the better imple- 
ment to use w^hile the crops are small. Several attachments 
are provided for both types. The hoe blades can be so set 
that they will scrape very close to the row, killing weeds and 
providing a shallow soil mulch. Another attachment which 
comes with the machine is a set of cultivator teeth for use 
when the plants are larger. In the home garden it is probably 
not advisable to have a seed drill. This tool, while indispens- 
able in planting an area of any considerable size to fine seed, 
is not so well adapted for the home garden. There is nothing 
better than the human hand for distributing the seeds as they 
should be, and there is nothing which adapts itself more 
easily to difference in thickness of seeding and difference in 
size of seeds. 

The Most Serious Garden Pests 

Green cabbage worm. This w^orm is the greatest obstacle 
to cabbage growing. It can be controlled early in the sea- 
son with arsenical poisons, which may be used without dan- 



300 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



ger to human beings. Some persons even say that it can be 
used after the plants have begun to head. While this view 
seems reasonable, it is perhaps best to be on the safe side 
and not use poisons after the heads begin to form. Later 
pyrethrum and white hellebore may be used. 

Striped cucumber beetle. This pest may be controlled by 
applying Bordeaux mixture and arsenate of lead to the young 
plants. It should be applied as soon as the plants appear above 

ground, and plants should be kept 
covered on both the upper and 
lower sides of the leaves with this 
material until the vines have be- 
gun to run. For cucumbers or mel- 
ons the standard Bordeaux mix- 
ture is too strong, and a mixture 
containing half the usual amount 
of copper sulphate should be used. 
A mixture of 4 pounds lime, 2 
pounds copper sulphate, and 2 
pounds lead arsenate in 50 gallons 
of water will not injure the plants 
and will effectively control the 
insect. 
Lice. Melon lice often destroy a 
melon, or cucumber crop in a few days. This insect may be 
effectively controlled by spraying with a 40 per cent solution 
of nicotine sulphate, reduced to one part in one thousand 
parts of water. This will effectively control the lice, and will 




FIG. 39. 
USING THE HAND SPRAY 



THE HOME GARDEN 301 

not injure the foliage. The lice live mainly on the under sur- 
faces of the leaves. As they do not chew, but rather get their 
food by sticking their beak into the tissue of the plant and 
drawing out the sap, it is necessary to cover their body with 
the material named in order to kill them. Arsenical poisons 
are of no help in controlling this insect. The method of apply- 
ing the spray is as important as the material itself. For the 
best lesults use a Yermoral nozzle with bent shank, fastened 
on the end of a spraying rod. If the nozzle is worked about 
and between the foliage thoroughly and a fairly high pi'essure 
is maintained, the material will be thrown out in a fine spray 
and practically every insect on the plants will be reached. 

Colorado potato beetle. Paris green, or lead arsenate, 
mixed with a little slaked lime, are the insecticides to use for 
this pest. 

Flea beetles often cause serious damage to tomatoes, egg- 
plants, and potatoes. This is a small black beetle which 
jumps from plant to plant when disturbed. It may be effect- 
ively controlled by keeping plants covered with Bordeaux 
mixture and arsenate of lead. 

Cutworms. These often work serious damage in the spring 
of the year while the ground is still cold. It is always well 
to avoid planting vegetables on sod ground if possible. Some- 
times manure, w^hich has laid on a pile during the previous 
summer, has provided an ideal place for the cutworm moths 
to lay their eggs, and such manure often adds multitudes of 
cutworm eggs to the soil. If the number of plants is not 
too great, the cutworms can be best controlled by uncovering 



302 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the earth about the plants which have been attacked and 
hunting out the cutworms. Bran mixed with molasses and 
a small amount of Paris green placed in small pits on the 
higher spots of the land will often be effective as a poison 
bait. 

Diseases. The leaf spots and fruit rots so common in 
vegetables are caused by fungous and bacterial diseases. Some 
of these can not be controlled, but most of them yield readily 
to systematic applications of Bordeaux mixture. 

Preparing" products for market. To sell garden products 
profitably one must know how to make them attractive to 
the purchaser. Products should be clean, of proper size, 
shape, and degree of ripeness. Those that are marketed in 
bunches, baskets or other containers should be uniform in 
these respects. 

Usually there are two grades of products ; fancy selected, 
and number one, besides culls. It should be borne in mind 
that number one is the low^er grade. The fancy selected 
grade will be of proper size, color, degree of ripeness and 
free from blemishes. A bunch or a basket will be uniform 
in these respects. Size should be characteristic of the va- 
riety. A beet the size of one's head would not be graded 
as fancy selected. Color and shape are other characteristics 
which should be considered in connection with the different 
varieties of products. The degree of ripeness at which the 
products are to be packed for market will depend upon the 

Note — Small fruits should be included in the garden: strawber- 
ries, blackberries, red and black raspberries, gooseberries, currants, 
grapes, etc., but in a course of study including so many phases of 
agriculture these topics can not be taken up. 



THE HOME GARDEN 303 

distance to market. Some products which are to be shipped 
some distance will be picked green. 

In grading products it may be well to use a typical speci- 
men as a sample and compare others with it. The following 
description* of the grades of tomatoes may serve to make 
this point of grading clear. Fancy selected tomatoes are 
sound, smooth, regular in shape, free from cracks, and of 
such size that twelve specimens will fill one basket of a flat 
or a four basket crate. Number one grade is composed of 
sound specimens, slightly inferior to the fancy selected 
grade in size and smoothness, or with slight cracks about 
the stem which may have healed over so that there is no 
danger of leaking. Culls are badly cracked, rough, over- 
ripe or under-sized specimens. Tomatoes which are smaller 
than twenty to the basket would be regarded as culls. 

Products which are to be bunched may be first graded 
and then washed after bunching. This makes handling 
easier. All root crops, early in the season, are bunched. 
Radishes (except the winter type) are bunched at all sea- 
sons. In this class are green onions, asparagus, rhubarb, 
kohl-rabi, parsley, leeks, celery and sometimes leaf lettuce. 
String, raffia and tape are used in tying. Rubber bands 
are often used for asparagus. 

The size of the bunch will depend upon the product. 
Bunches of radishes may contain five or six or ten or twelve 
depending upon size. As a novelty, white and scarlet rad- 
ishes may be arranged in the same bunch. Asparagus 



*Lloyd — Productive Vegetable Gardening. 



304 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

bunches should be about eight inches in length and of such 
circumference that the hand will go about two-thirds of the 
way around. 

Bunches of onions will appear to better advantage if the 
tops are trimmed off. The tops of all small beets and car- 
rots (in size about forty to the quart) should be left on. 
Later in the season larger specimens may be marketed in 
bulk with the tops removed. 

The importance of uniformity in the appearance of such 
products may be demonstrated by comparing two bunches, 
one of which contains specimens uniform in all respects 
and the other, products of all sizes, colors, shapes, and de- 
grees of ripeness. 

Notebook Questions 

1. What are important factors in locating the home vege- 
table garden? 

2. What is ideal garden soil ? 

3. Name the steps in the preparation of a good garden 
seed-bed. 

4. What are the best and most practical fertilizers for the 
garden soil? 

5. State some principles to guide one in laying out the 
garden for seeding. 

6. What shall determine the varieties and the time for 
planting ? 

7. Name the standard early season and late season vege- 
tables. 

8. What are the purposes and advantages of the hotbed? 

9. What vegetables are successfully transplanted? 



THE HOME GARDEN 305 

10. What should be accomplished in garden cultivation? 

11. What are some modern garden tools? 

12. List the most serious garden insect pests and dis- 
eases, and explain how to combat two of them. 

13. Why should everyone have a garden? 

Practical Exerciser? and Home Projects 

The garden plans. Let each pupil carefully draw to a 
scale the plan of the vegetable garden as it is laid out at his 
home. 

After this study let each pupil draw a garden plan as he 
would carry it out in a home garden of his own. 

If it is feasible to have a school garden, let each member 
of the class draw a plan of such a proposed garden. 

Laying" out and planting' the school garden. If condi- 
tions at the school are favorable to the employment of labor 
all through the garden season, and if sufficient land is near 
the school to justify such an undertaking, it may be advisable 
to carry on a school garden. For a high-school garden the 
plan of making a demonstration home garden for an average- 
sized family seems the best one. The garden should be planted 
and cared for a-s a class enterprise. Small fruits and orna- 
mental planting may make the whole scheme a valuable, prac- 
tical piece of work in connection with the school study of 
vegetable gardening. The garden should be carried on as 
nearly in accordance Avith directions and correct principles 
which are given in this chapter as is possible. For individual 
work in vegetable gardening the home project garden is to 
be recommended as most desirable. 

Cold frames and hotbeds. Since the w^ork with cold 
frames and hotbeds would come during the school season, it is 
advisable by all means to undertake this practical exercise at 
school. 



306 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Cold frames are devices for growing plants early or harden- 
ing them off for the field by making use of the heat of the 
sun through glass without any foundation heating. They 
regulate heat and moisture and protect plants from heavy 
wind and dashing rain. The standard size of the cold frame 
sash is three by six feet, and the length of the cold frame 
will depend upon the number of sashes to be used. 

Make the frame six feet w^ide, eight inches high in front 
and twelve inches high at the back, of either one-inch or tivo- 
incli lumber. A lean-to cold frame on the outside of a build- 
ing may be made by nailing a two-b3^-four piece of lumber 
against the building and constructing the frame upon it. 
Good garden soil will furnish the seed-bed for the plants to 
be grown in the cold frame. 

For a permanent hotbed a pit about two feet in depth is 
dug and, if it is desirable to make one so large, the length 
may be six or nine feet, with a width of three feet — the length 
of a window sash to be used over it. The sides and ends of 
the pit are supported by a lining of plank held by corner 
posts. The plank frame should extend above the surface of 
the ground eight inches at the front and twelve inches at the 
back. The hotbed is heated by horse manure containing straw 
bedding or one-third leaves. Prepare the manure by stacking 
it in a compost heap, turn it over every three or four days 
and restack. After three or four days more, mix it care- 
fully and spread it evenly in the hotbed pit, about fifteen 
inches deep. Tramp down firmly. Scatter four or five inches 
of good garden loam over the manure in the hotbed. Make 
frames for the sash and place them over the hotbed; allow 
it to heat up. Do not plant any seeds in it until the tem- 
perature subsides to at least 90 degrees. 

Early lettuce, radishes, cabbages, tomatoes, eggplants, and 
other vegetables may be sown thickly in rows four or six 
inches apart in the hotbed, and under proper care the school 



THE HOME GARDEN 



307 



will have plants to supply the neighborhood from its own 
garden by the time warm weather comes. 

In addition to the sash, mats of carpet will be needed on 
cold nights. During bright days it may be necessary to lift 
the sash a little to allow the hot air to escape and to give 
ventilation. Hotbeds should be watered in the morning on 
bright days. 

Draw a plan of the hotbed and keep a notebook record of 
the work done. 

Cultural requirements of vegetables. Place in the note- 
book the following table and fill out the cultural requirements 
of the standard garden vegetables grown. 



Vegetables 



Soil 
Requirements 



Season 
Requirements 



Care 
Requirements 



Outline for studying vegetables. A better crop can be 
produced if the grower knows, before planting time, the 
soil requirements, cultural methods and harvesting pos- 
sibilities of each vegetable grown in the garden. 

The following outline has been prepared for this purpose. 
It is important that children fill out a sheet of their note- 
book for each vegetable to be grown. Subject-matter may 



308 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

be found in seed catalogs published by local seed firms, in 
bulletins published by state experiment stations, in bulletins 
published by the United States Department of Agriculture, 
and in any good book on vegetable production. Frequent 
conversations with successful gardeners will tend to clear 
up some of the things that are not understood: 

Outline 



Name and variety of the vegetable to be planted. 

Soil requirements. 

Fertilizer requirements. 

Method of propagation — seed, bulb, and tuber. 

Seasons of planting. 

Methods of planting. 

1. How far apart are the rows? 

2. How far apart are the plants in the rows? 

3. How deep is the seed, tuber, or plant planted? 

4. How many seeds are needed for 100 feet of drill? 
Location of the vegetable in the garden. 

1. Is the vegetable sun-loving in its habits? 

2. Is the vegetable shade-loving in its habits? 

3. Will the vegetable shade or crowd other vegetables? 
Care of the crop. 

1. How often should the crop be cultivated? 

2. What is the required distance between plants for the full devel- 

opment of the vegetable? 

3. Does this vegetable need to be transplanted? 

4. Does this vegetable need to be staked? 

5. Does this vegetable need to be blanched? 

6. Does this vegetable need to be sprayed? 

(a) What is the purpose of the spray? 

(b) What is the best spray to use? 

(c) How often should the crop be sprayed? 
Harvesting. 

1. When should this vegetable mature? 

2. How is it prepared for home use? 



THE HOME GARDEN 309 

3. What is the canning possibility? 

4. Is there a market demand for this vegetable? 

(a) How should it be prepared for market? 

(b) What price should it bring? 

5. What seeds can be selected for next year's crop? 

6. How is the fresh vegetable stored for winter use? . 



CHAPTER XX 

THE COUNTRY BEAUTIFUL 

The country's fine art. One source of genuine happiness 
in human life is to be able to create or appreciate some work 
of art. We have usually thought that music, painting, litera- 
ture, architecture, etc., were the only fine arts, and that these 
at their best were not within reach of country people. Not 
onl}^ are these fine arts becoming available to country people, 
but the revived art of landscape gardening, coming with the 
development of agriculture, makes possible the use and appre- 
ciation of one of the finest of fine arts by the people of the 
open country. 

Beautifying home and school grounds. There are a few 
rules agreed upon by landscape artists which will guide begin- 
ners to use good taste in planting home and school grounds. 
These may be called the A, B, C's of landscape gardening. 

A. An open greensward in front of the house. 

B. Borders and backgrounds massed with trees and shrubs. 

C. Curved lines in walks, arrangement of trees, shrub 
masses, flower groups, and the planting of foundations. 

Under A we must avoid cluttering up the green lawn with 
flower beds, sheared shrubs, and other artiflcial affairs. A 
single tree beautiful in itself is not objectionable on the 
lawn. 

310 



THE HOME GARDEN ^n 

Under B the taller trees and shrubs must be in the rear, 
and the whole growth shaded down in solid mass to the 
ground in front, where borders of flowers may be planted. 
These borders may swing out in curves into the lawn. 

Under C the requirements are that there shall be few 
straight lines in the natural landscape planting. If the walks 
are long enough, they should gently curve, and shrub masses 
may be planted in these curves. The trees and shrubs should 
not be in straight rows, but in masses and groups curving 
naturally into the lawn. The angles formed by the buildings 
and ground should be broken by shrubs and flower borders. 

Materials to use in planting*. There is little excuse for 
country home and school grounds being barren and unplanted 
when they stand in the midst of such a wealth of nature's 
materials for making them beautiful. Fortunately nature has 
aided the indolent and indifferent man in many cases by 
growing the trees and shrubs in abundance about his home 
grounds. Where such is the case he ought to be enjoined 
from cutting them down except to shape their arrangement 
in harmony with correct principles of landscape art. Where 
the native wild shrubs and trees grow naturally on home 
or school grounds, they should certainly be left, with proper 
arrangement and care, of course. Such native trees as the 
maple, the linden, the ash, the elm, the poplar, the dogwood, 
the horse-chestnut, and many others, and such shrubs as the 
wild hydrangea, the azalea, the spice-bush, the sumac, the 
high bush cranberry, the viburnum, the chokecherry, and the 
elder, may be successfully transplanted from the forests and 
fields to the home and school grounds. 



312 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Boys and girls cooperate. If our boys and girls will help 
to plant and care for trees and shrubs, they will learn to 
respect and wish to preserve them as useful and beautiful 
public property. Here, with the young folks, is the proper 
starting point for the conservation of our trees and the 
beauty of the countryside, for it is they who will have to 
''pay the piper" after we have had our dance. 

Making a picture in the landscape. It is possible to make 
such use of trees and shrubs that a beautiful picture of the 
home grounds may be framed and enjoyed by the passers-by 
from the public road; furthermore, it is desirable to place 
the trees and shrubs about the home grounds so that attract- 
ive views from the windows and doors of the house across 
the landscape may be secured. In the making of the picture, 
the orchards, forest trees, and windbreaks make excellent 
backgrounds. Trees and shrubs massed at the border frame 
the picture, and the open greensward in front of the house 
makes an attractive foreground. All that is needed to com- 
plete the picture in the landscape, in addition to the use of 
nature's plant material, are the happy boys and girls of 
the home living in the midst of it. 

Screening' unsightly objects. There may be about the 
home either on the owner's ground or on that of a neighbor 
such unsightly objects as old barns, outbuildings, washed-out 
banks, gaudy signboards, etc., and these may all be hidden 
hy the proper placing of trees and shrubs, or, if close at hand, 
covered by vines and made attractive. 

Tree butchery. In many rural villages one sees such utter 
disregard for the beauty of the trees as is commonly known 



THE HOME GARDEN 3I3 

as ''tree butchery." Tops are taken off of trees; the limbs 
are cut in lop-sided fashion; long, unsightly, ragged stubs 
are left to die and decay; and they are otherwise mutilated 
by commercial interests, careless hands, and ignorant tree 
pruners. When people are educated to appreciate the nat- 
ural beauty of trees, they will make provision through proper 
police force and intelligent care and management to pre- 
serve this beauty to the landscape. 

Same practical planting suggestions. In the beautifying 
of our home and school grounds we must make use of proper 
methods in planting the trees and shrubs, in order that they 
may live and grow and contribute to the picture as we had 
planned. All nursery stock or material brought from the 
woods should be healthy and hardy, with good root system, 
well preserved. 

In most cases it is advisable to use a liberal supply of 
water after the hole is half filled up, so that the soil may be 
closely packed about the roots. Leave the surface of the 
ground with a loose mulch and keep the grass from growing 
about the tree or shrub. The label should be removed from 
the plant to prevent bark binding. After planting, it is bet- 
ter to water thoroughly every few days than merely to 
sprinkle the surface every day. 

Trees and shrubs will grow better if the surface of the 
ground about them is cultivated during the months of INIay 
and June. 



314 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Notebook Questions 

1. What are the materials for the landscape artist's use? 

2. Give the A, B, C 's of landscape gardening. 

3. What are some common violations of these rules of 
landscape gardening you have seen? 

4. Why should country home and school grounds be well 
planted ? 

5. List the trees, shrubs, and flowers you know native to 
your section and suitable for planting on home grounds. 

6. What is meant by a picture in the landscape ? 

7. What tree-butchery have you seen? 

8. Describe in detail the proper method of planting a 
shrub. 

9. Where is the proper place for flowers on the home 
grounds ? 

Practical Exercises and Home Projects 

Map of school grounds. Pupils should draw a mr.p of 
the school yard, designating the trees and s-hrubs already 
present^ and indicating where others should be placed. Draw 
the map to a scale. Eepresent trees and shrubs by little cir- 
cles numbered to correspond to a key in the margin where 
the planting is named. 

Mapr of home grounds. Each pupil should draw a map of 
the home grounds and indicate the location of buildings, 
walks, trees, and shrubs. Criticise the plan according to 
the A, B, C's of good landscape planting. 

Picture study. Let the members of the class be provided 
with pictures of home and school grounds, and criticise these 
plans according as they conform to good landscape princi- 
ples. Pictures may be found in nursery catalogues, college 
bulletins, text-books, and garden magazines. 



PART V 

HOME PROJECTS 

Introductory Note 

Everywhere the demand is being made upon teachers of 
agriculture to make their work practical. The ideas of prac- 
tical agriculture are generally vague in the minds of those 
advocating it, but they usually imply the idea of a plot of 
ground or a ''model farm'' at the school. Until our present 
scheme of school organization is changed, such a plan is not 
practical or advisable. It is altogether practical work in 
agriculture to learn, even from books, correct principles of 
scientific agriculture. To apply these principles in agricul- 
tural practice will strengthen the instruction and make the 
knowledge surer. It is for the purpose of making as prac- 
tical as possible, for the boys and girls of the public schools, 
some of the principles of scientific agriculture, and of giving 
direct vocational value to such work, that the following home 
projects are outlined in detail. The topics for study relat- 
ing to the projects will be found throughout the text. 

At the beginning of the course in agriculture, whatever 
text-book may be used or course pursued, each student in the 
class should choose one or more of the projects and carry it 
through to the end of the course, or until the project is well 

315 



316 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

worked out. This should be done in addition to the regular 
school work in agriculture, and credit for the whole course 
should not be given until the student has completed his 
project to the satisfaction of the teacher. 

A neat and accurate notebook record of the project should 
be kept by the student. Full directions for the field and 
notebook work are given with each project. 

No attempt has been made to classify the projects accord- 
ing to the length of time required for their completion, or 
to rank them with any credit value which they may carry. 
The teacher may credit the student according to the nature 
of the project and the character of the work done. 

Under the recently enacted Smith-Hughes Law, federal 
and state aid is allowed to high schools teaching voca- 
tional agriculture. One of the requirements of a school 
thus aided is that each pupil shall carry on a six-months' 
farm project as a part of his course in agriculture. 

General Plan of Project Record 
Each student should be provided with a large sheet of 
durable paper, size about 12 inches by 15 inches, upon which 
to make a chronological record of his project according to the 
plan outlined, below. This should be done in addition to the 
records made in the notebooks as explained under each project. 

(From Bricker^s Agricultural Education for TeacJiers.) 
Instructor's Record Student 

Date Address 

Project Project, extent, size, etc 

Grade » 



HOME PROJECTS 



317 



Date — 


Operation or 

Observation, 

What, How. 

Why, etc. 


•Materials 
and Tools 

Used- 
Quantity, 
Cost 


Labor 
Time 
Cost 


Results — 
Immediate, 

Final. 
Production 


Financial Acct. 


Month, 
Day 


Expense 


Tncome 






• 











If the project involves the use of land, draw a map of the 
plot to a scale on the back of the record sheet. 



HOME PROJECT 1 



Poultry Raising 



Plans. Select at least a dozen well-bred hens of any good 
egg-laying strain for this project. 

Housing. Build (or equip one already built) a poulti-y 
house according to good poultry house standards. One would 
not desire a house smaller than 8 feet by 10 feet. One hun- 
dred hens may be housed in a building 20 feet by 20 feet. 
The essentials of a good poultry house are : 

1. Freedom from dampness. 

2. Freedom from draughts. 



318 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

3. Excellent ventilation. 

4. Plenty of light; cheerful surroundings. 

5. Convenience. 

Fence off a run and keep the chickens of this projeet sepa- 
rate from others that may be about the place. Provide a dry 
floor upon which straw and chaff may be placed in which the 
hens may scratch for their grain. Have a vessel in which to 




FIG. 40. MEDITERRANEAN TYPE OF HEN 

keep a constant supply of clean fresh water, a hopper of sim- 
ple construction in which to keep the dry mash feed, a box of 
road dust for wallowing, and boxes for oyster shell and grit. 
All these containers should be placed high enough above the 
scratching floor to be free of chaff and dirt. Provide nests 
in darkened places, and roosting poles apart from the feed- 
ing and other portions of the house. 

Feeding. Consult authorities on the feeding and care of 
poultry, and begin the project, giving every detail your best 
thought, judgment, and effort. The following are some good 
rations for laying hens : 



HOME PROJECTS 319 

1 — Grain 2 — Dry Mash 

10 lbs. Corn 5 lbs. Bran 

10 lbs. Wheat 5 lbs. Shorts 

5 lbs. Oats 31/0 lbs. Meat Scraps 

Skimmed milk. Place the grain in the straw on the floor 
and the mash in the hopper. Three or four handfuls of 
grain to a dozen hens in the morning, and all they wajit at 
night, would be a good allowance, — that is, providing you 
keep the hopper full of mash to which the hens may go all 
the time. During the summer the ration may be reduced 
one-half. Steamed alfalfa hay is a good winter ration. All 
table scraps should be thrown to the chickens. Potato and 
apple parings should be ground or chopped with other succu- 
lent food and given with the table scraps. Other necessary 
supplements should be supplied such as plenty of clean fresh 
water, oyster shell, grit, charcoal, and green stuff whenever 
available. 

Raising young chicks. If possible carry through an incu- 
bator hatch of chickens. The earlier the ''broilers" can be 
put on the spring market, the more profitable the business. 
The student who undertakes this part of the project should 
send to the State Experiment Station for special instructions. 

Allow a few of your hens to sit and hatch out broods of 
young chicks for your project. 

Notebook Records 

1. Write a brief history of the breed chosen. State why 
the breed was chosen. 

2. Draw a plan of your house, showing all details of 
construction and equipment. 



320 A YEAR iN AGRICULTURE 

3. Keep accurate records of all feeds, the amount, costs, 
etc. 

4. Keep record of all eggs produced, and their value at 
market prices. Let the egg-record sheet show daily yields. 

5. If it is at all possible, install trap-nests, label your 
hens by numbers placed on leg bands, and thus kefep tab of 
each hen's egg record. 

6. Write any conclusions or remarks you wish to make 
about your experience in this project. 

HOME PROJECT 2 
Keeping Dairy Cows 
Select one or more dairy cows at the home farm to use 
in this project. Make the following preliminary notes in 
the agricultural notebook: 

1. T*he breed of the cow. A brief history of the breed. 

2. T'he pedigree of the cow if known ; some points of spe- 
cial interest about the past history or record of the individual 
COW; age, weight, and general condition. 

Scoring*. Use the standard score-card of the state, and 
carefully mark the points in judging the dairy cow you 
select for the project. Copy or paste the score-card in your 
notebook. 

Shelter. Is the cow kept in a stall or given the freedom 
of lot and pasture? 

1. The nature and condition of the pasture and feed lot. 

2. Description of the barn and stall where the cow is 
kept, fed and milked; — size of stall, floor, feeding manger, 
lighting, and general sanitary conditions. Make notes on all 
these points. Suggest what improvements should be made. 



HOME PROJECTS 321 

Feeding*. What has been the ration of the cow prior to 
the beginning of the project ? What was the average amount 
of feed given daily? Begin the record by feeding the fol- 
lowing ration, if practicable : 

(a) Sixteen to 20 pounds of alfalfa or clover hay, 3 parts 
of com or oats to 1 part bran. (Feed 1 pound of grain for 
every 3 or 4 pounds of milk per day.) 

(b) By reference to feeding table, determine the nutritive 
ratio of this ration. Why is it a good one ? Note and modify 
the above ration, if practical, to meet the conditions of the 
farm and community as suggested by your State Experi- 
ment Station. 

Give the cows plenty of pure fresh water. 

Keep a record of the amount and cost of the feed stuffs 
used throughout the project. 

Dairy products. What was the estimated milk record of 
the cow when this project began? 

Prepare a milk record sheet upon strong manila paper, or 
secure one already printed from a dairy man, and post in a 
convenient position near the milking place. Have scales at 
hand where the milk can be weighed after each milking. 
Provide on the sheet a place where a daily record may be 
kept of the value of the milk at the prevailing market price. 
Copy this sheet by weekly summaries into your notebook. 

i\Iake a Babcock test for the butter-fat content of the milk 
once a month. Take composite samples for these tests from 
both morning and evening milkings. 

(See Warren's '* Elements of Agriculture," p. 345, for de- 
tails in making this test.) 



322 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Prepare a record page in your notebook giving dates and 
results of tests made. Let this record also show the total 
butter-fat content from the cow for the period of the project. 
Giving this butter-fat the market value of creamery butter, 
let the record also show the total value of the butter-fat 
products. 

Records. Make a statement showing total costs of feed- 
ing, total returns from the products, and net profit or loss 
accruing during the project. The student's notebook should 
show all the details of this project and include accurate 
records of all operations. Photographs and pictures pasted 
in the notebook would add to its value. 



Weeki.y Record Sheet for Each Cow 



Days 


Amount 

of 

Grain 

Fed 


Amount 

of 
Rough- 
age Fed 


Milk 

Yield, 

lbs. 


Butter- 
Fat. 
Esti- 
mated 
pounds 


Cost 

of 
Feed 


Value 

of 

Products 


Gain 

or 
Loss 


Monday 
















Tuesday 














Wednesday. . . . 
















Thursday 
















Friday 
















Saturday 
















Sunday 
















Totals 

















HOME PROJECTS 323 

HOME PROJECT 3 

Pig Raising 

The Beginning'. For this project the farmer should allow 
the student to take in charge a sow and a litter of newly- 
born pigs, or a gilt bred to farrow in early spring or fall. 

Begin the notebook record of this project by stating how 
many pigs are in the litter, when they were farrowed, and 
to what breed they belong. 

Write a brief history and description of this breed of hog. 

Feeding" the pigs. About the first thought one has in con- 
nection with raising pigs is that they eat. 

The little pig safely born and within a few minutes suck- 
ing at a teat full of milk has made a good start in life. It 
is important that every pig in the litter get its stomach full 
of the first milk of the sow. 

The brood sow should be fed in such a way as to stimulate 
the fioAv of milk. If the food is too rich, consisting of skim- 
milk, oil meals, corn, and the like, the pigs are likely to 
have digestive disorders. On the other hand, if the mother 
is underfed, the pigs will also suffer. 

Feed the sow regularly on a moderately rich ration, such 
as mashes made from ground oats, shorts and bran. Sweet 
milk added to the above makes an excellent ration. In about 
three weeks the pigs may begin to nibble at their mother's 
food, to bite at grass, and perhaps to try to root. In one 
corner of the pen place a small trough for the pigs and 
fence it off so that the sow cannot get to it. At least twice 
a day, just as much sweet milk as the pigs will clean up may 



324 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

be given to them. Never leave any milk to sour in the trough. 

In a few days a gruel of oats and wheat middlings may re- 
place the milk. Later, corn soaked for twenty-four hours 
may be placed in the trough. Never feed more than they 
will clean up. Pigs fed in separate places in this manner 
will make much more rapid growth. 

If pigs are free to run on the proper pasture in connec- 
tion with the above feeding, the weaning process will take 
care of itself and the pigs learn to "root for themselves.'' 
'Tigs in clover" are contented and happy, but hog happi- 
ness and prosperity may perhaps best be found with pastures 
of alfalfa, rape, and clovers. Authorities say that cow-peas 
supply the necessary balance to a corn ration for growing 
pigs. If the father will allow the boy to sow an acre of 
cowpeas or soy beans in May, they will have a good growth 
for the spring pigs by the middle of July. Proper handling 
from farrowing to fattening time should produce pigs weigh- 
ing from ninety to one hundred and twenty-five pounds. Turn 
the pigs on the cow-peas or soy beans two hours a day, grad- 
ually extending the period for a week, after which they 
may remain in the pasture all the time. The growing ration 
fed before should be gradually done away with, and corn 
should be supplied in connection with the pasture to fatten 
them. One acre of the cow-peas or soy beans should supply 
a dozen hogs during the seventy-day fattening period, at a 
great saving of the amount of corn ordinarily required to 
fatten hogs, and the hogs will have made greater gain due to 
a better balanced ration. Tankage at the rate of 1 part to 



HOME PROJECTS 325 

10 parts of water, given once a daj^ is a good supplementary 
feed for growing pigs. 

Sheltering and other care of pig's. If this project is begun 
in the spring, the question of housing may not be so im- 
portant; however, the student should know that hogs should 
hav6 shelter and that their houses should be well- ventilated, 
well-lighted, well-drained, and sanitary. Hogs need shelter 
in both summer and winter. 

One individual hog house, constructed on runners so that 
it can be moved about, should be built for the sow and her 
litter in this project. The house may be A-shaped, eight 
feet square and seven feet high, with or without a floor. 
(Send for the bulletins on Portable Hog Houses, Wisconsin 
Agricultural Experiment Station, Madison; Illinois Experi- 
ment Station, Urbana ; and Iowa Experiment Station, Ames. ) 

There are many pig ills and diseases likely to come to the 
swine herd, but it will not be practicable to discuss them 
or suggest any study of them in this project. Cholera is the 
arch enemy of the hog, but fortunately science is coming to 
the rescue with a serum which is very successful in render- 
ing hogs immune from the disease. If there is cholera in 
your neighborhood, write to the State Veterinarian for sug- 
gestions and advice. Consult with experienced farmers on 
other problems connected with the raising of your litter of 
pigs. 

Records and accounts. At the beginning of the project 
the student should prepare a record sheet in his notebook in 
which to tabulate the following records and accounts: 



326 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

1. Records and Accounts in Raising a Litter of Pigs 
Name and Number of Sow. 



Date of 
Farrowing 



Breed 



Date 

First Food In 

Addition to 

Mother's Milk 



Kind of Pasture, 
Date Turned In 



Kind of 
House Used 



2. 



Estimated 

Weight 

Each 

Month 



Money Expended In 

the Project. 

For What? 

Amount. 

Estimated Value of 

Food not Purchased 



Money 

Received 

from Sale 

of Hogs 



Notes 



Note — For a more detailed study of the pig raising project see 
"Pig Raising," by Nolan and Greene, published by Row, Peterson 
& Co. 



HOME PROJECTS 327 

HOME PROJECT 4 

Corn Growing 

Selecting the ground. The best time to choose the plot 
of ground upon which the com project is to be carried out 
is in the fall. Select not less than one acre of good, deep, 
well-drained, fertile loam soil, preferably in clover sod. 

Enriching the soil for permanent fertility. If the clover 
crop of the previous summer has not been cut and left lying 
on the ground to be plowed under, apply broadcast, prefer- 
ably in the fall or winter, a dressing of barnyard manure at 
the rate of six or eight tons to the acre. 

Most soils are deficient in phosphorus. Apply in the fall 
or winter about two tons per acre of fine-ground rock phos- 
phate. This should always be applied to soil containing an 
abundance of active organic matter such as manures or 
clovers, and plowed down with the organic matter. 

Lime is useful in aiding decomposition of organic matter 
and in keeping the soil sweet. Most soils should be limed 
once in four or five years, at the rate of two or three tons 
per acre of ground limestone. The limestone may be put 
on the ground in the spring or fall after it is broken up 
for corn. 

Preparing the seed-bed. Corn ground, in general, should 
be plowed deep and be well-pulverized. Seeds will not ger- 
minate evenly if the seed-bed is lumpy and rough. It is ad- 
visable to break corn ground in the fall, providing it is not 
a heavy clay soil and there is no danger of the soil washing 
away during the winter. Never plow a clay soil when it is 



328 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

wet. Plowed land should be thoroughly disked and harrowed 
before planting. 

Selecting, storing, and testing the seed. The only satis- 
factory method of selecting seed corn is the one that takes 
into consideration the whole plant. It is necessary to select 
seed com from leafy stalks that are well developed, having 
the ear located just a little below the middle of the stalk 
and supported on a short shank which inclines the ear down- 
ward. This selection can be made only from standing stalks 
at ripening time. Desirable ear characteristics are described 
on standard score-cards and will not be given here. 

In the great corn belt we are likely to get freezing weather 
soon after com has matured, and ears intended for seed 
should be protected from frost. Corn contains considerable 
moisture, the germ is a living thing, and the vitality of the 
com may be seriously injured if it is allowed to freeze. Com 
should be stored in a dry room, out of reach of mice and 
rats, and where dampness or freezing will not occur. 

It is a wise plan to test seed corn for vitality, or ability 
to grow, early in the spring before it is time to plant. One 
poor ear of com spoils about one-fifteenth of an acre of the 
corn field. One method of testing seed corn is fully explained 
in Farmers' Bulletin No. 409, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture. Write for this at Washington, D. C. Methods are 
also given in the chapter on corn in this book. 

Planting. Corn may be planted from the first to the mid- 
dle of May, or even later. Use the best seed available. 

From one and one-half to three inches is the depth to plant 
corn, depending on the character of the soil. 



HOME PROJECTS 329 

The hills should be three feet six inches apart each way. 
Plant three or four kernels for each hill, if the check-row 
method is used. 

As an additional feature to this project, the student may 
plant an ear- to-row plot. Select from seven to ten good ears 
of corn and plant one row from each ear. Number each row 
by a stake driven in the ground at the end of the row. At 
the end of the season report which rows yielded most, and 
save the seed from these rows for next year. 

Cultivation. Proper cultivation is one of the most im- 
portant operations in growing corn. Weeds are removed and 
the surface mulch is maintained in proper cultivation. 

Early rolling and harrowing before or soon after the corn 
comes up is a good practice, facilitating the early control of 
the weeds. 

The soil should be cultivated as often as is necessary to 
maintain a loose? shallow mulch of soil over the surface of 
the corn field. Never allow the surface to become baked or 
hard before ** laying by." Cultivate after a rain as soon as 
it is dry enough to work. Care should be taken not to culti- 
vate too deep. If the roots of corn are injured, the yield is 
reduced. Five or six cultivations during the season would 
be the minimum number to insure a good crop. 

Cross pollinating. Before kernels will form in the ear, 
pollen from the tassel must fall on the silk of the ear. This is 
called pollination. A stronger strain of corn is developed 
when the pollen fertilizes an ear not of the same but of 
another stalk. If every other row in the plot from which 
seed is to be selected is detasseled just as soon as the tas- 



330 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

sels form, there will be plenty of pollen to fertilize all the 
corn, and the ears on the detasseled plants will necessarily 
be cross pollinated and are likely to be better developed 
than the ears on the stalks not detasseled. The student 
should do this work, and select his seed corn from these 
detasseled rows. 

Record of the project. Prepare a page in the agricultural 
notebook to record the work on this project as follows: 

1. Area of com plot. 

2. Character of soil. 

3. "What crops were grown on the land the three preced- 
ing seasons? 

4. What amount of manure, phosphorus, and limestone 
was applied? When applied? 

5. When and how deep was the plat plowed? 

6. Condition of land at plowing. 

7. How many times harrowed? 

8. Date of planting. Was seed tested? 

9. Variety of corn used. 

10. Distance apart of planting. 

11. Number of stalks per hill. 

12. How plot was cultivated. 

13. Depth of cultivation. 

14. How many times cultivated. 

15. How many pounds of ear. 

16. Number of pounds of stover. 

17. Yield in bushels. 

18. Rent of land at $5 per acre. 

19. Cost of seed. 



HOME PROJECTS 33I 

20. Cost of fertilizers. 

21. Cost of plowing, planting, cultivating, harvesting, etc. 
Figure your own time 25 cents an hour and the' time of the 
horse 20 cents an hour. 

22. Total value of crop, stover, and com. 

23. Net profit or loss of the project. 

24. "What should be the next crop on your plot? 

For fuller details on this subject, see "Corn Growing," by Nolan 
and Greene, published by Row, Peterson & Co. 

HOME PROJECT 5 
Some Insect Studies* 

Provide yourself Avith an insect net, cyanide bottle, collect- 
ing cans, lens, and mounting boxes or cases. 

To collect and preserve insects a cj^anide bottle is needed. 
Get a wdde-mouthed bottle and a good cork to fit it tightly. 
Put in the bottom of the bottle an ounce of potassium cyan- 
ide broken into lumps about the size of lima beans; add 
enough saw-dust to cover the lumps and pour in plaster of 
Paris, mixed to a consistency of thick cream, covering the 
whole Avith a layer about a quarter of an inch thick. In a 
few minutes the plaster will harden. Drop an insect to be 
killed into the bottle and cork immediately. The fumes of 
the cj^anide coming up through the plaster kill the insect. 
(Avoid hreatliing tliese fumes, and keep tlie bottle corked.) 
Label the bottle and keep it away from children. 



♦See Hodges' "Nature-Study and Life. 



332 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Insect mounting cases may be purchased from any scien- 
tific supply company. Cigar boxes make very good cases 
for mounting and preserving insects. 

Equip an insect breeding cage to use in following out life 
histories. 

Try to get the eggs or pupa of some insect hibernating in 
these stages during the winter to place in the breeding cage 
in order to begin life history studies. Make notes as tabu- 
lated below : 



Name of 
Insect 



Stage Placed 
in Cage 



Date of 
Starting 



Date of 
Next Stage 
Appearing 



Habits and Time 

in Following 

Stages 



Make collections and mount in some permanent form, such 
as the Riker cases types of insects from each of the seven 
orders of insects. 

If possible, secure and equip an observation beehive. 

Keep notebook record of all studies. 



HOME PROJECT 6 
Growing Alfalfa 

The ground. Select a fertile, well drained plot of ground, 
from one-tenth to an acre in size, to be used for the growing 
of alfalfa. Some steps may be taken toward the preparation 



HOME PROJECTS 333 

of the ground during the fall or winter preceding the sowing 
of the seed. 

Good drainage is essential to alfalfa culture, and this should 
be the first item to receive attention in the preparation of 
the ground. 

Unless the soil is naturally rich in limestone it is well to 
put at least a ton of ground limestone per acre on the land to 
be sowed ta alfalfa. This may be applied at any time. 

Since alfalfa is a heavy "feeder" upon phosphorus, it is 
advisable to apply about a ton per acre of finely-ground 
rock phosphate to the land before plowing the ground in the 
fall or spring. Stable manure or a green cover crop should 
be incorporated with the rock phosphate. 

The ground should be plowed deeply in the fall or as early 
in the spring as conditions will permit and placed in ' ' onion 
bed" tilth. Two methods of procedure may here be followed : 

First plan. Sow the alfalfa seed, about twelve or fifteen 
pounds per acre, as soon as the ground is prepared, with a 
nurse crop of barley, about one bushel per acre, or with the 
*' sixty-day" variety of oats. Before the barley or oats ma- 
ture in the summer they should be cut as a hay crop, leaving 
the field to alfalfa. 

Second plan. Cultivate the ground all spring and early 
summer as you would a corn crop to conserve the moisture 
and to keep down weeds. During the last week of July or 
the first week in August sow the alfalfa seed. 

Sowing seed and inoculating soU. In either method as 
mentioned above, the ground should be inoculated with alfalfa 
bacteria just before sowing the seed. 



334 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Procure about 200 pounds of the soil upon which alfalfa 
or wild sweet clover has grown and apply to each acre just 
before seeding. Harrow it in at once. A cloudy day is 
preferable for this work, since sunlight may kill many of 
the bacteria before they get into the soil. 

Use good, clean, tested alfalfa seed, from twelve to fifteen 
pounds per acre. On a small plot the seed may be sown 
broadcast and carefully harrowed in. 

Cutting alfalfa hay. The crop is harvested the second 
summer after planting as a most valuable hay. Three, four, 
or five cuttings may be obtained during a season. The hay 
should be cut as soon as the shoots of the new growth begin 
to appear at the crown of the old growth. 

Notebooks records. The student should keep a notebook 
record of every step in the operation, recording the cost of 
preparation of the ground, the seed, etc., and if the project 
continues two summers the returns from the hay crop should 
be added to the record. 

HOME PROJECT 7 
Soil Fertility and Alfalfa 

Purpose. This project contemplates the handling of one 
acre of land in four plots. Two of these plots are untreated, 
and farm manure, limestone, and phosphorus are applied to 
the other two. Two plots, one treated and one untreated, are 
sown to alfalfa, and the other two put into a rotation, only 
one crop of the rotation appearing at a time. Wheat, com, 
oats, and clover is the rotation suggested. This may be 
varied to suit varying conditions. It is suggested that the 



HOME PROJECTS 335 

work be started with corn. Thus for the first year of work 
there will be two alfalfa plots and two corn plots. When the 
rotation is completed in two plots it is moved to the other 
plots, and the plots used for the rotation are seeded with 
alfalfa. The project is adapted for use in almost any section 
where limestone and phosphate may be procured. Necessarily 
this project requires several years of time and a continuous 
policy of management. 

The Plan 

1. Seeding" alfalfa. The alfalfa may be sown in the spring 
with a nurse crop of oats or barley, or the ground may be 
plowed and cultivated until June, when the alfalfa may be 
sown. Another plan is to sow winter rye in the spring as a 
nurse crop. This ceases to grow after a time and the alfalfa 
gets ahead of it. Another advantage of this latter plan is the 
fact that if the first stand is lost, the alfalfa and nurse crop 
may be plowed up in May and the alfalfa reseeded alone in 
June. 

2. Preparation and treatment. Farm manure and steamed 
bone-meal or rock phosphate are applied before plowing, 
disked in, and plowed under. 

3. Limestone. This should be applied after ploAving, and 
worked into the surface soil by disking and harrowing before 
seeding the alfalfa or planting the corn. 

4. Amounts to apply. 

Farm Manure 10 tons per acre 

Steamed Bone-meal 1 ton per acre or 

Rock Phosphate 2 tons per acre 

Limestone 5 tons per acre 



336 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



5. Inoculation. The glue method of inoculation is ad- 
vised. Both alfalfa plots are to be inoculated. 

6. The plots. The plots are four in number, arranged as 
below : 



1 


2x8 rods 


o - 


2 


2x8 rods 




Vj rod 


Vo rod 










. 3 


2x8 rods 




4 


2x8 rods 



The treatment of each plot is as follows (use one-tenth the 
amount suggested above on each plot) : 

1. Nothing. 

2. Manure, limestone, and phosphorus. 

3. Nothing. 

4. Manure, limestone, and phosphorus. 

The division strips are for protection, turning with machin- 
ery, etc. 

The acre selected should be so far as possible representa- 
tive of the farm. It should be free from draws or hillsides, 
and should not contain old feed lots or stack bottoms where 
soil is unusually fertile. 

7. Farming operations. No directions are given for 
farming operations ; the student is to be governed by the best 
farming practice in his neighborhood or on his farm. The 



HOME PROJECTS 337 

crops should be seeded, cultivated, and harvested according 
to best scientific practices. 

8. Weighing". It is of great benefit to have scales availa- 
ble for use on the fami. Bone-meal may be purchased in 
200-pound bags, and manure and limestone may be estimated 
by the wagon load or fraction thereof. This should only be 
done when it is impossible, without inconvenience, to gain 
access to scales. 

9. Sign boards. For the benefit of visitors it is well to 
have small sign boards for the plots to indicate the treatment. 
Use these abbreviations: 

— No treatment. 

]MLP — Manures, limestone, and phosphate. 

Still other sign boards might be made on which could be 
tacked cardboard bearing the yields of crops the previous 
year. 

10. Reports and general information. 

Name Age 

Location — County... Township... Range... Section... Quarter... 

Topography of land — Rolling, level. 

Soil Type: 
Surface — 
Subsoil — 

Drainage — Natural, open ditches, or tile drains. 

Location of Plot on Farm — 

Is it representative of the entire farm? 

(Try to avoid abnormal spots which are not representative, such 

as stock bottoms, hog lots, feed plots.) 

Previous History of Plot — State what crops have been grown, rota- 
tions practiced, cornstalks burned or plowed under, manure or 
fertilizers applied. 



338 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Is your land weedy? 

State when you plowed the ground and applied the limestone, ma- 
nure, and phosphorus. 
Method of inoculation used? When alfalfa was sown? 
What is rotation you intend to follow on plots 2 and 4? 
Difficulties. 

Directions for keeping" records. A book about five by 
seven inches, ruled in squares, is recommended for this pur- 
pose, although any book may be used. On the third page 
of the book make a drawing of your acre showing the arrange- 
ment of the plots, and number them as in the diagram under 
paragraph 6. 

On page 5 of your notebook rule up columns as indicated 
below, and record the various amounts applied to each plot. 
Thus: 

Rock phosphate 
Plot Manure Limestone or bone-meal Crop 



Page 7 of your book should contain a record of the hay, 
grain, and straw cut from each plot. Eecord each cutting 
separately, if possible. A sample form is here given: 



HOME PROJECTS 



339 



Plot. 


Pounds 

hay per 

plot. 


Tons 
hay 
per 

acre. 


Pounds 

grain 

per plot. 


♦Bushels 

grain 
per acre. 


tPounds 

straw, 

stover, 

or fodder 

per plot. 


Tons 

straw, 

stover, 

or fodder 

per acre. 


1 














2 














3 














4 















*State pounds per bushel used. 

tif you are unable to get weights, omit these columns. 

On pages 9, 10, and 11 keep an account of the labor ex- 
pended on your acre. It should be given in boy-hours, man- 
hours, and horse-hours. By one boy-hour is meant the labor 
performed by a boy (10 to 18) worldng for one hour. A 
team of horses working for one hour performs two horse- 
hours of labor. A specimen page is here given : 



Date. 


Operation. 


Boy-hours. 


Man-hours. 


Horse-hours. 


July 10 


Raking hay 


2 




4 











































340 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Hours are to be added up at the close of the season. 

On pages 2, 4, and 6 of your notebook you should keep a 
diary of your operations, giving such information as dates 
of plowing, harrowing, and seeding, conditions of weather, 
names and comments of visitors, appearance of alfalfa and 
other crops from time to time. 

On pages 12 and 13 a financial statement for the year 

should be made out. The following form should be followed : 

Page 12 
Dr. 

Rent of land 

Cost of seed bushel @ 

Cost of manure 5 tons @ $2,50 

Cost of limestone 21/2 tons @ 

Cost of bone-meal ^^ ton @ 

Labor boy-hours @ .25 

man-hours @ .30 

horse-hours @ .20 



Total 



Page 13 



Cr. 

Value of rotation crop bushels @ 

roats 
Value of nurse crop bushels J barley @ 



[rye 



Value of alfalfa hay tons 



@ 



Total 















Plots 


1 


2 


3 


4 


Value of Crops 












Cost of Crops 













HOME PROJECTS 



341 





Value of Crops 


Cost of Crops 


Treated Plots 










Untreated Plots 












Value of Increase 












Cost of Increase 








1 



HOME PROJECT 8 



Vegetable Gardening 



Location, size, and plan for the garden. For this project 
the student may choose an area for his garden apart from 
the family garden, or he may take over the home garden and 
manage it as directed herein. No definite size can be required 
for the garden in this work, but it should be at least 32 feet 
by 32 feet. 

Make a plan of your garden in your agricultural notebook. 
Draw it to a scale, about one-eighth inch to the foot. 

SUGGESTIVE GARDEN PLAN 
Sweet Potatoes 



Melons 



Cucumbers 



Sweet Corn and Beans 



Sweet Corn and Beans 



342 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 
Tomatoes 



Early Cabbage 




Late Cabbage 


Bunch Beans 


Peas 


Beets 




Turnips 


Lettuce 




Spinach 


Onion Sets 




Radishes 





If your garden site is of a different size and shape than 
the above, follow a similar arrangement of planting, giving 
more or less space to each vegetable as the tastes of the family 
require. 

Draw the plan of your garden as you plant it. 

Preparation of ground. The ground should be cleared of 
all coarse refuse from the preceding crops, heavily manured, 
and deeply plowed in the fall. Forty tons of manure to an 
acre is not too much to apply if maximum crops of vegetables 
are to be grown. If the plowing is deferred until spring, 
fine, well-rotted manure should be used. If the soil is a stiff 
clay, it may be improved by the addition of sand. 

Apply strips of blue litmus paper to moistened lumps of 
the garden soil. If the paper turns pink or red, the soil is 
sour and needs lime. Apply from 2,000 to 4,000 pounds per 
acre of air-slaked lime. Ground limestone may be used if 
available. 



HOME PROJECTS 343 

After the ground is plowed, it should be harrowed and 
reharrowed until the soil is crumbled into as fine a seed-bed 
as it is possible to make. Sow broadcast over the ground 
bone-meal at the rate of 300 pounds per acre. 

Mark off the rows according to the plan of seeding as 
shown on your map, and prepare to plant the seed. 

Selecting and planting the seed. For a small garden, 
seeds may be purchased at the local stores. Be sure that 
the seeds are fresh. 

Much depends upon the variety of seed as to the value of 
the garden product. The following varieties are recom- 
mended : 

Beans. Stringless Green Pod, Henderson's Bush Lima, Lazy Wife's 

Pole Bean for the corn. 
Beets. Crosby's Egyptian. 
Cabiage. Jersey Wakefield, Savoy. 
Sweet Corn. Golden Bantam, White Cob Cory, Stowell's Evergreen, 

Country Gentleman. 
Cucumter. Emerald, White Spine. 
Lettuce. Hanson, May King, Morse. 
Muskmelon. Netted Gem, Rocky Ford. 
Onion. Southport Yellow Globe, Prize Taker. 
Peas. Alaska, American Wonder, Gradus. 
Radish. Earliest White, Scarlet Button. 
Spinach. Long Standing, Victoria. 
Sweet Potato. Nansemond. 
Turnip. Purple Top Strap Leaf. 
Tomato. Chalk's Early Jewel, Ponderosa, Stone. 

See planting list given in the chapter on Gardening, page 
292. 

The time and methods of planting are shown in the fol- 
lowing table: 



344 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 







Distance 










from 


Distance 


Depth of 


Seeds. 


Time. 


preceding 


apart 


planting. 






row. 


in row. 




Beans 


After frost 
dangers 


2 ft. 


3-4 in. 


2 in 






Beets 


Early 


18 in. 


3 in. 


lin. 


Cabbage 


Early 


3 ft. 


2 ft. 


Transplant 


Sweet Corn 


Early 


3 ft. 


2 J ft. 


2 in. 


Cucumber 


After frost 


4 ft. 


4 ft. 


1 in. 6-8 seeds 


Lettuce 


Early 


1ft. 


i in. 


iin. 


Melons 


After frost 


4 ft. 


4 ft. 


1 in. 6-8 seeds 


Onion Sets 


Early 


1ft. 


3 in. 


2 in. 


Peas 


Early 
Early 


2 ft. 


1 in 


2 in 


Radish 


1ft. 


1-2 in. 


1-2 in. 


Spinach 


Early 


1ft. 


1-2 in. 


1-2 in. 


Sweet Potato . . . 


After frost 


3 to 4 ft. 


12-16 in. 


Transplant on 
ridge 


Turnip 


Early and 
late 


2 ft. 


3-4 in. 


1-2 in. 


Tomato 


After frost 


4 ft. 


3 ft. 4 in. 


Transplant 



Firm the earth well over all seeds planted. 

Students doing the vegetable garden work may be able to 
procure their transplants of cabbage, tomatoes, and sweet 
potatoes from those having the project with tomatoes and 
the hotbeds. 

It would be well to sow seeds of some annual flowers about 
the borders of the garden, such as cosmos, dwarf sunflowers, 
etc. 

Care and cultivation of the garden. The first attention to 
be given the garden after seeding will be to keep down the 



HOME PROJECTS 345 

weeds. It may be necessary to pull many weeds by hand, 
but whether by hand or hoe, the weeds must go. 

A loose, shallow surface soil mulch should be maintained 
at all times. As soon after a rain as the ground is friable 
the surface should be broken and the mulch provided to pre- 
vent excessive evaporation. Every few days, whether it rains 
or not, the ground should be stirred and the growth of weeds 
checked. The best tool for this purpose is a wheel hoe. The 
Planet Junior wheel hoe is an excellent implement for every 
garden of the size recommended in this project. It will always 
be necessary for the best results, however, to use the common 
hand hoe in addition to the wheel hoe to put on the finishing 
touches. 

Where some of the plants are crowding each other too 
much it may be necessary to thin them. 

Some of the plants of the garden will need special handling 
as the season advances. Tomatoes should be tied up to stakes ; 
beans, if of the pole variety, will need staking. 

Combating pests will be an early problem. 

1. The striped melon beetle will attack the cucumbers 
and melons as soon as they appear. If there are only a few 
hills, it is practical to protect them by covering with small 
screen-covered bottomless boxes. Tobacco dust, lime, etc., are 
repellents often successfully used. 

2. Large insects, such as tomato worms, squash bugs, and 
various caterpillars may be picked off by hand and killed. 

3. For small leaf-eating insects, such as cabbage worm, 
potato bug, etc., a solution of lead arsenate (about a tea- 
spoonful to a gallon of water) sprayed upon the plants is 



340 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



effective. An atomizer or sprinkler may be used in a small 
garden. 

4. Plant lice may be combated with Tobacco Concoction, 
or ''Black Leaf 40." 

5. Ordinary blights and rots of the garden may be suc- 
cessfully combated by the use of Bordeaux mixture. 

To utilize the garden intensively, such crops as peas, rad- 
ishes, lettuce, turnips, etc., maturing early, should be removed 
and followed by a succession crop of the same or another 
vegetable. 

Keeping garden accounts and records. Prepare a page in 
the notebook and keep records as called for in the following 
table : 



Date of 
planting. 



Varieties. 



Up— 
Date. 



Blooming- 
Date. 



Used- 
Date. 



Continued 
bearing. 



Prepare an account sheet in your notebook as follows, and 
keep record of expenses and receipts: 



HOME PROJECTS 



347 



Date. 


Paid out. 


Date. 


Received. 


April 1 
April 10 


For fertilizer ...$1.20 
For seeds 75 


Mayl 


For dozen radislies.$0.15 



HOME PROJECT 9 



Tomato Raising 



Early in the spring, or perhaps in February, send to a 
good seed house for tomato seeds. Get at least two varieties — 
Chalk's Early Jewel, Livingston's Globe, Matchless, Stone, 
Earliana, or Ponderosa. 

Making the hotbed. Select a place at the south side of 
some building for the hotbed. Dig an oblong space, three 
feet Wide, six feet long, and eighteen inches deep. Make a 
wall of posts and boards fitting close to the side of the beds, 
or, perhaps better, make a bottomless box to fit into the bed. 
Make the back wall three feet high and eighteen inches above 
the surface of the ground. A* two-by-four set in from back 
to front across the middle will make a support for the win- 
dow sash which is to cover the bed. 

The heat for the hotbed is commonly supplied by the fer- 
mentation of horse manure. The manure from livery stables 
is usuallv best. Perhaps as much as half of the whole mate- 



348 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

rial should be of litter or straw that has been used for bed- 
ding. To allow fermentation to take place, the manure should 
be piled for several days before using. In cold weather, wet- 
ting the pile with hot water will ha&ten fermentation. In 
order to make fermentation uniform, the pile should be turned 
occasionally and the hard lumps broken up. When the pile 
is steaming uniformly throughout it is placed in the hotbed. 
Fill in about nine inches of the manure and tramp down 
firmly; then add a second nine inches and firm as before. 
Now spread three or four inches of rich garden loam over 
the manure and the bed is ready for the seed. 

Planting the seed and caring for the seedlings. Mark off 
the seed-bed in rows across the short way, about four inches 
apart. Drop the seed in the furrows about an inch apart, 
cover with about a half inch of soil, and firm it well over 
the seed. Other vegetables, such as cabbage, eggplant, sweet 
potato, etc., may be planted in the hotbed. Cover the hotbed 
with the window sa^sh. See garden project for varieties. 

The soil should be watered every few days, and on bright, 
warm days the sash should be raised to admit fresh air to 
the seedlings. 

Preparation of ground in the garden. The plot of ground 
for the tomatoes may be plowed either in the fall or the 
spring. It would be well, unless the ground is especially 
rich, to turn under a layer of well-rotted stable manure on 
the tomato plot. 

Harrow down the surface well and lay it off in rows four 
feet apart. A mixture of steamed bone, dried blood, and 
potassium sulphate is a good fertilizer. A shovelful of well- 



HOME PROJECTS 349 

rotted manure applied in each hill and covered with earth 
will promote growth. 

Transplanting- the seedlings into the garden. After all 
danger of frost is over, go over the tomato plot again, pre- 
paring a clean, loose surface, and renewing the rows where 
the plants are to be set. 

Select the healthiest, stockiest tomato plants from the hot- 
bed to transplant. Do this work in the evening to prevent 
excessive wilting. Have a plant trowel to dig up the seed- 
lings with as much of the root-system as possible. The trowel 
may also be used to dig out the hole in which to set the young 
plants in the rows in the garden. 

Setting the tomato plants. Place the varieties together. 
Using the trowel, prepare a place for each plant a little 
deeper than it grew in the hotbed. The old garden practice 
of pouring about a half-pint of w^ater about the roots of the 
seedling, just before the last bit of soil is placed about the 
plant, is a very good plan, especially if the soil is a little dry. 
Firm the soil well about the roots and have a loose mulch 
over the surface about the tomato plant. Set the plants 
about three and a half feet apart in the row. 

Tomato plants may be sold if a market is found. 

Cultivating, prxining, and staking. Employ two methods 
of soil culture on your plot after you have cultivated the 
ground and kept down the w^eeds for a few weeks. On a part 
of your plot cover all the ground with a mulch of straw; 
on the rest continue cultivation to keep down weeds, and to 
provide a loose soil mulch at all times. 



350 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

On the straw plot allow the tomatoes to fall down and grow 
at will without further care in pruning or staking. 

On the cultivated plot, after the tomato plants begin to 
send out branches from the angles of the leaves, drive a stake 
about five feet long, containing two or three cross-arms, by 
each plant, and tie the plant to this stake as it grows, to 
keep it off the ground. Select a few plants to prune. 
Throughout the summer, watch the plants and pinch off all 
side branches, leaving only the central one to grow and be 
tied to the stake. 

On a few plants hand methods of fighting insects may be 
employed. Cut-worms may be prevented by w^rapping a piece 
of heavy paper around the stem of each plant at the time 
of transplanting. Tomato worms may be picked off and 
crushed under foot. If leaf blight or tomato rot appears, the 
plants should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. 

The last work of the project would consist in keeping a 
record of the amount of tomatoes harvested from the plot. 
If the tomatoes are sold, they should be carefully graded and 
sold in baskets, twelve in each. 

Notebook records. The student should keep a diary rec- 
ord of every operation performed in connection with this 
project. 

HOME PROJECT 10 

Potato Raising 

Where to plant. Select a deep, rich, sandy loam soil, if 
possible, in which to grow potatoes. The plot for this project 
should contain at least one-tenth acre. Almost any soil, how- 



HOME PROJECTS 351 

ever, that is warm, mellow, and contains the requisite plant 
food will produce good crops. It would be well to enrich the 
soil with well-rotted manure the fall previous to planting. 

Preparing the seted-bed. All potato soils should be made 
mellow to a good depth. It is best to plow up the ground 
in the fall before the winter rains and snows begin. Fre- 
quent harrowings in the spring up to planting time will con- 
serv^e moisture, produce good tilth, and keep down the weeds. 

Sow bone-meal fertilizer broadcast over your potato plot 
at the rate of 300 pounds per acre, and harrow it into the 
soil before planting. 

Seed potatoes. Such varieties as Early Rose, Early Ohio, 
Carmen No. 3, The Burbank, etc., are standard varieties to 
plant. 

Seed potatoes should not be smaller than a hen's egg, and 
from that up to six ounces in weight. When potatoes are 
cheap it will pay to plant medium-sized, whole tubers. Seed 
potatoes should be smooth and free from scab and warty 
spots. 

Treatment for scab may be necessary to insure a good crop. 
This disease causes rough, warty spots on the tubers. Tubers 
should be treated in the following way before planting: Add 
one ounce of formalin, which may be obtained at any drug 
store, to each two gallons of water used. Place uncut seed 
potatoes in a bucket or tub and cover them with the diluted 
formalin solution. Allow the tubers to soak for two hours, 
then spread out to dry until planting time. 

Cutting the tubers. If only small-sized tubers are used it 
will not be necessary to cut them. When large tubers are 



352 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

used they should be cut into halves or quarters longitudinally. 
Cut from the ej^e-end toward the stem-end, leaving at least 
one of the ''seed end" buds on each piece. Do not cut the 
tubers until ready to plant. 

Planting the tubers. Potatoes may be planted in April or 
May, without reference to the moon or Good Friday. Early 
potatoes should be planted as soon as the ground can be 
worked and the danger of freezing is past. 

Depth and distance apart. Depth and distance between 
potatoes in planting depend upon soil conditions and variety. 
In general potatoes should not be planted less than three 
inches nor more than eight inches deep. In good soil potatoes 
may be drilled one foot apart, one piece to a place in the 
row, or, planted in hills, two pieces to a place about fifteen 
inches apart in the row. (Use both methods.) The rows 
should be two or three feet apart, depending upon the method 
of cultivation used. A peck of seed to a 100-foot row is the 
amount usually required. Plant in straight rows and cover 
with moist earth as soon as planted. 

As an experiment, plant one row on the surface of the 
ground and cover the potatoes and the ground for two feet 
on each side of the row with old straw. Give no further 
cultivation to this row. 

Cultivation. If the seed-bed has been well prepared, it 
will not be necessary to stir the ground until the plants 
appear. If a crust forms* after planting, it should be broken 
with a harrow or a rake. As soon as the plants are up so 
that the rows can be se^n, give them a good cultivation with 
a garden wheel hoe or cultivator. The first cultivation may 



HOME PROJECTS 353 

break up the ground to a depth of four to six inches, but all 
later cultivation should not penetrate the ground more than 
three inches. Flat cultivation providing a shallow surface 
mulch constantly is the general practice. Good cultivation 
will maintain a soil mulch throughout the season, thus pre- 
serving the moisture and preventing the growth of weeds. 

As an experiment and for contrast, cultivate one row by 
ridging up the soil about the potato plants as they grow. 

Combating insects and diseases. The Colorado potato 
beetle is pretty sure to find your potato plot and to begin his 
destructive work of defoliating the vines. Prepare a solu- 
tion of lead arsenate, about one teaspoonful to a gallon of 
water, or at the rate of two pounds to fifty gallons of water, 
and spray over the potato plants as soon as the beetles ap- 
pear. For a small area an atomizer or a sprinkling can 
may be used. 

For the potato-leaf blight, spray with Bordeaux mixture. 

Formula: 1 pound copper sulphate, 1 pound caustic lime. 

Dissolve copper sulphate in hot water. SlaoK: lime in* sepa- 
rate vessel. When both are cool, mix and add water to make 
nine gallons of mixture. xVdd one-half ounce Paris green or 
one-half pound lead arsenate, and both bugs and blight are 
successfully combated. 

Harvesting. Students will find it most practical to ' ' lift ' ' 
their crop by hand with a potato hook or fork. Dig each 
hill carefully, and keep the tubers in the experimental rows 
separate from those in the other rows so that comparisons 
may be made. Note the hills giving the highest yields, and 
save these for exhibition or for seed. Sack up the potatoes 



354 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

in the usual way, weigh or measure the entire output, and 
store in a suitable place until they are sold or used. 

Notebook record. Tlie student's notebook should give full 
information concerning each of the following points: 

1. Name and address of student. 

2. Area of plot in square rods, number of rows, and num- 
ber of hills planted. 

3. Kind of soil ; sand, clay, loam,, etc. 

4. Kind of crop grown on plot year before. 

5. Kind, amount, and value of fertilizer used. 

6. Preparation of soil. Date and depth of plowing. 

7. Variety planted. "Where seed was obtained. 

8. Amount of seed used. 

9. Describe treatment of tubers for scab. 

10. Method of cutting seed. 

11. Date ajid method of planting. 

12. Date when vines came up and when in full bloom. 

13. Dates and methods of cultivation. 

14. Methods and success of combating insects and disease. 

15. Date of harvesting. 

16. Yield in pounds or bushels. 

HOME PROJECT 11 

Onion Growing 

Plans. For this project the student may grow ripe onions 
by the two ditf erent methods : ( 1 ) by sowing the seed in the 
open field; (2) by planting sets. A plot of at least four 
square rods should be used for this project, and, of course. 



HOME PROJECTS 355 

the larger the plot grown the greater the possible profit. 

Soil requirements. Select land that is exceedingly rich 
for the production of onions. Land that has been well 
manured and cultivated in some crop for several preceding 
seasons is best. In the fall heavy applications of manure 
should be made to the land and plowed under. Three require- 
ments of the soil essential to profitable onion culture are: 
(1) richness in available plant-food; (2) good tilth due to 
the presence of large quantities of humus; and (3) relative 
freedom from weed seeds. 

Time of planting. A portion of the plot should be planted 
with onion seed. The seed should be planted as early in the 
spring as the ground can be worked. An exceedingly fine 
seed-bed should be prepared. 

The seed is drilled in rows, twelve inches apart, at the rate 
of four or five pounds per acre. 

A second portion of the plot should be planted to onion 
sets, which should also be put in as early as possible. Use 
good-sized sets. The rows should be twelve inches apart, and 
the sets about three inches in the row. Plant the sets by 
hand, pushing them well into the soil, and be careful to get 
the right end up. After the sets are in, draw the soil lightly 
over them with a rake. 

Cultivation. As soon as the plants are up, weeding and 
tillage should begin. Cultivate often ; it is especially impor- 
tant that the ground should be stirred as soon as possible 
after each rain. The onions should be cultivated at least 
once each week or ten days for a period of three months. A 
wheel hoe is the best implement to use. Hand weeding is 



356 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

nearly always necessary in onion culture. If the onions are 
to be thinned, this should be done before they get too large. 

Marketing. If it is desired to market some of the onions 
as "green bunch onions," in about six weeks from planting 
the sets will have grown to the desired size, and the plants 
may be pulled and bunched for the market. 

For this project it is probably better to allow the onions 
to ripen in the ground and market them as ripe onions. 

When onions ripen properly, the necks shrivel first and 
the tops fall over while they are yet green. It is best to begin 
harvesting when the tops have fallen over and turned yellow. 
As the onions are pulled, the tops are twisted off and the 
onion bulb dropped into a basket. In commercial onion cul- 
ture these onions are placed in crates and exposed to the sun 
for a few days, or stored in open sheds where they cure until 
sold on the market or placed in winter storage. The onions 
may cure well by being spread over the floor of a corn crib 
where crates and sheds are not provided. 

Varieties. For this project, the Prize Taker, the Gigantic 
Gibraltar, and the red and white American types are good 
varieties to use. 

Notebook record. The) notebook record should be a de- 
scription of how the onions were grown, with an accurate 
account of all expenditures and receipts. 

HOME PROJECT 12 

Cucumber Growing 
Varieties. In selecting the varieties of cucumbers for this 
project, use the small sizes foi* pickling and the larger 



HOME PROJECTS 357 

varieties for slicing. For the student's home project, White 
Spine or Henderson 's Perfected should be chosen. 

Soil. Cucumbers should have a warm, moist, rich, loamy 
soil. Sod that has been turned over in the fall is excellent. 
A shovelful of well-rotted manure, thoroughly mixed with the 
soil at the bottom of each hill of cucumbers, should be applied. 
A handful of commercial fertilizer may also be added. Make 
the hill at least two feet in diameter, and spade the soil up 
to a depth of seven or eight inches. If the soil is heavy, add 
a shovelful or two of fibrous loam. The student should grow 
at least twenty-five hills for this project. 

Planting*. Plant the seeds out-of-doors after all danger 
of frost is over; usually the first or second week of May is 
a safe time. Plant about eight or ten seeds scattered about 
in the hill. The hills should be from four to six feet apart 
each way. When the vines begin to run, they should be 
thinned from four to five plants, leaving the strongest vines 
spaced wide in the hill. 

Indoor planting. For an early start it would be a good 
experiment in this project for the student to grow a few hills 
indoors. Take sod from a very rich soil as soon as the frost 
is out of the ground. The pieces of sod should be from four 
to six inches square. Turn them upside down, and place six 
or eight seeds in each piece of sod, about half an inch deep. 
Keep these plants in a warm place and moisten regularly. 
As soon as they make a good start, transfer the sod with the 
young plants to the hills in the garden. Cucumber plants 
may also be started in berry boxes or flower pots. 

Cultivation. Keep the surface mulched until the vines 



358 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

cover the ground. Break the surface after each rain and keep 
out all weeds and grass. As soon as the vines begin to cover 
the ground, cultivation is no longer possible, but the weeds 
may be pulled out by hand. 

Harvesting. The vines must be kept in good bearing con- 
dition by picking the cucumbers regularly. If they are left 
to ripen, the productiveness of the vine is weakened. As an 
experimental feature of the project, a few of the tips of the 
growing vines may be kept pinched off after the vine has 
reached a length of four or five feet. In this way more blos- 
soms and fruit may be forced along the vine. 

Diseases and pests. Downy mildew and wilt are diseases 
that sometimes attack the cucumber. Spraying with Bor- 
deaux mixture is effective for these diseases. All vines dis- 
eased beyond control should be destroyed as far as possible. 
Arsenate of lead should be sprayed on the vines for the 
cucumber worm, and this is also effective against the striped 
beetle. The striped beetle is the most serious pest of the 
cucumber. Air-slaked lime or tobacco dust scattered about 
the vines often acts as a successful repellent against these 
pests. For melon lice, which are often serious pests of the 
cucumber, spray with the tobacco water or whale-oil soap. 
The under sides of the leaves must be reached. 

Rec(Mxls. The student carrying on this project should 
keep a notebook record of every operation in the growing of 
this crop. This should include the date of the preparation 
of the ground, the planting of the seed, cultivation of the 
ground, the amount of cucumbers harvested, the control of 
the pests, and the cost and receipts for the whole project. 



HOME PROJECTS 359 

HOME PROJECT 13 

Sweet Corn Culture 

Varieties. The student who takes this project should se- 
lect seed from the white variety — Early Crosby, White Cob 
Cory, White Evergreen, Country Gentleman — and the yellow 
variety, Golden Bantam. Only good seed from last year's 
crop should be planted. 

Preparation of plot. For this project the student should 
have at least one-tenth acre. Sweet com will grow on any 
good, rich, well-drained soil, but does best in deep, rich, 
sandy loam well-fertilized with barnyard manure. The ma- 
nure may be put on either in the fall or spring; it must be 
Avell scattered and spaded or plowed under. A handful of 
wood ashes in each hill is a good fertilizer to apply. If 
sweet com is planted in the home garden, the rows should 
be on the north side where the com will not shade the vege- 
tables. It is unwise to plant two types of corn, as sweet and 
field, or sweet and pop corn, in the same garden, as they wiU 
become crossed by the wind and insects carrying the pollen. 
The ground for this crop should be plowed early and deep, 
and the soil thoroughly packed and mulched before planting. 

Planttrig. Sweet corn should not be planted until the soil 
is dry and warm. A general rule is to plant when the apple 
trees are in bloom. If planted in hills, the rows should be 
thirty inches apart, and the hills two feet apart. Drop five 
or six grains in a hill and cover them two inches deep. If 
planting in drills, drop two or three grains every six inches 
in the drill. As soon as the com is well up it should be thinned 



360 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

to one in a place in the drilled row, and to four plants in the 
hills. Suckers appearing around the roots of sweet corn 
should be promptly removed. 

Cultivation. Make the soil loose and fine after each rain ; 
a mulch of about two inches deep is best. The roots of corn 
are near the surface, and one should not hoe too deep around 
the hill. Liquid manure or a dressing of soda nitrate will 
cause a strong growth of the com plants. 

Marketing". As soon as the sweet corn is in the ** roasting 
ear" stage, the student may begin to market his crop. Study 
the demands of the market and put up attractive packages 
to sell. Keep record of all sales. 

Selecting seed. As soon as the corn begins to show silks, 
select about twenty stalks that showed silks first, and tie 
strings or tags to them above where the ear is forming. Keep 
all suckers off these stalks. Ijet the ears on these stalks go 
until they ripen. These ears will furnish seed for another 
year. 

Notebook records. The student's notebook record of this 
project should be an account of how he grew his corn, a state- 
ment of all expenses, and the total receipts from the sale of 
com, or an estimated value of the product if it was used at 
home instead of being sold. 

HOME PROJECT 14 

GrROwiNG Strawberries 

Two season project. The student who chooses this project, 
should be so situated as to be able to carry it on for two 



HOME PROJECTS 3gl 

seasons, because one season is insufficient to show results. It 
is one of the best projects for a young person to undertake. 
The strawberry is one of the most important of the small 
fruits. 

Soil requirements. Strawberries may be grown with a 
fair degree of success in almost any soil, but moist, dark, 
sandy loam is the best. The land for this crop should be well- 
drained. The soil should be thoroughly prepared, plowed or 
spaded deep, heavily manured, and thoroughly harrowed 
until the surface is fine and mellow before the plants are set. 

The plants. For this project the student should have at 
least one hundred plants to grow. Senator Dunlap, Gandy, 
and Aroma are some standard varieties to plant. 

Settings the plants. The project should be begun early in 
the spring. After the ground is prepared as indicated above, 
lay off the land both ways in rows two feet apart. The 
strawberry plants should then be set at the junction of these 
rows. The roots of the plants should not be exposed to the 
sunshine. They should be set in the hole prepared for them, 
with the roots well spread out. Press the soil firmly about 
the roots with, both hands, being very careful not to cover the 
crown. If the ground is not wet, each plant should receive 
about one pint of water, and loose mulch should be drawn 
over the moistened earth. 

Cultivation. The rows should be kept clean and free from 
weeds at all times. When the runners begin to grow, they 
should be trained in circles about the plants, and not allowed 
to cover the space between the rows. A fine soil mulch should 
be maintained during the entire first summer, and during the 



362 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

winter the ground and the plants should be covered with 
straw or marsh hay to protect the plants from freezing and 
thawing. Keep the plants covered until all freezing nights 
are over. In the spring an application of wood-ashes, if avail- 
able, and nitrate of soda will be very helpful as a fertilizer. 

The bairel method. As an additional feature of this 
project, the student may try the barrel method of growing 
the strawberries. 

Take any strong barrel, nail on the hoops, and clinch the 
nails inside. Bore two or three holes in the bottom for drain- 
age. Begin about eight inches from the bottom and bore two- 
inch holes, ten inches apart, around the barrel. Make a simi- 
lar row of holes six or eight inches from the top, and a row 
of holes between the two rows just mentioned. Take land 
tile or a hollow wooden tile into which holes have been bored, 
through which the plants may be watered, and place this in 
the center of the barrel. Use half soil and half well-rotted 
manure ; fill up to the first row of holes. Set the plants inside 
and pull the leaves out through the holes in the first row. 
Fill the barrel to the second row and set the plants in the 
same way; and so on with the third row. Always press the 
soil firmly before setting the plants. Fill the barrel full and 
set one-half dozen plants in the top. A single barrel pre- 
pared in this way and well cared for will yield an abundant 
suppl}^ of strawberries. 

Notebook records. The student carrying out this project 
should record each operation, setting down the work and the 
performance. A record should be kept of the expense and 
the final harvest in connection with the strawberry crop. 



HOME PROJECTS 353 

HOME PROJECT 15 

. Growing. Sweet Peas 
Preparing soil and planting seed. For this project the 
studejit should plan to grow at least one hundred feet of 
sweet peas. These may be planted in one single row or sev- 
eral rows, three and one-half feet apart. Such varieties as 
Grandiflora and Spencer sweet peas may be secured for seed. 
The seeds after being soaked for twenty-four hours should be 
planted in a double row, about six inches apart and two 
inches deep. The furrow in which the double row is to be 
planted should be spaded up at least one foot deep. Finely 
ground street sweepings or well-rotted manure should be 
placed in the bottom of the furrow and slightly covered with 
rich garden loam. Then with the handle of the rake, which 
should be used to widen the furrows, two rows should be 
drilled six inches apart in the furrow. In these rows the 
seeds are sown, one, two, or three inches deep. They should 
be covered with a hoe, care being taken to remove all stones 
and hard earth from the surface. Firmly imbed the seeds in 
the soil by walking on the drills. 

Early care. Sweet pea seeds may not appear to grow as 
soon as one would expect, but if the seed is good and the soil 
preparation and moisture right, they should sprout within the 
week. If the cutworms appear, mix about three tablespoonfuls 
of Paris green with a peck of bran, adding a little water to 
make a mash. Scatter this around the young plants. It 
quickly destroys the worms. The chickens must be shut up, 
of course, and not allowed to eat this poison or scratch out 
the young plants. 



364 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Cultivation. With the first appearance of weeds the 
hand hoe or the wheel hoe cultivator should be used between 
the rows. "With each hoeing or cultivation the soil should be 
drawn up around the growing plants. 

Vine support. If the student does not wish to go to the 
trouble and expense of stretching wire for the vines, bushy 
branches three or four feet long thrust firmly into holes will 
afford a support to the growing vines. The spring rains will 
cause the vines to grow very rapidly, and the peas must be 
hoed at frequent intervals and the soil kept carefully rounded 
up about the plants. 

Keep blooming. If the sweet peas are planted as early 
as the ground and weather conditions permit, the first blos- 
soms may be picked by the 4th of July, about three months 
after the planting. In order to have the best results with 
sweet peas they must be kept growing constantly and the 
blossoms must be picked regularly to produce long-stemmed 
flowers on the new growth. If the stems begin to shorten, 
bone-meal fertilizer may be hoed in around the roots with 
good results. A constant supply of beautiful blossoms with 
long stems should be produced from the beginning of the 
blossoming season until the frost. 

During August plant lice and mildew may appear. These 
are combated successfully with Bordeaux mixture or nico- 
tine and kerosene solution. 

Marketing flowers. If the student wishes to sell his sweet 
peas, the flowers should be tied in bunches of twenty-five 
stems each and placed in a cellar or other cool place. Early 
the following morning the bunches should be sold on the 



HOME PROJECTS 355 

market. Florists, hotels, restaurants, tea-rooms, and private 
homes are often anxious for these sweet pea bunches. All 
the vines should be picked clean at least once every two 
days. 

Notebook records. The record of this project should con- 
sist in keeping daily account of the date and receipts in one 
column, and the actual and estimated cost in another col- 
umn. 

Write a few paragraphs telling how you grew your sweet 
peas. 

HOME PROJECT 16 

Beautifying Home Grounds 

The first thing to do in preparation for this project is to 
measure the home grounds and draw a map to a scale in the 
agricultural notebook. A good scale would be one-sixteenth 
of an inch to the foot. 

Locate accurately on the map the lawn, houses, trees, shrubs, 
and other objects as they are at the beginning of the project. 
Indicate houses by squares; lawns, by words neatly printed; 
trees, by circles ; shrubs, by stars ; and other important objects 
by figures explained in a key on another page. Refer also 
to each tree and group of shrubs or flowers by number 
explained in a key. For example, the figure (1) by a circle 
on the map may indicate maple tree, and should be so ex- 
plained in the key. 

Later, as the work of the season proceeds, mark on the 
map the plantings and changes you make. 

Principles to observe in beautifying the home grounds, 



366 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

the A, B, C's of landscape gardening. Copy the follov/ing 
principles into your notebook and learn them well: 

1. An open lawn of greensward should be the main fea- 
ture of the home grounds. An especially beautiful tree or 
clump of plants on the open lawn is permissible. 

2. Borders of shrubs in masses, and a backgroun of trees 
and shrubs in clumps and groups, should furnish the frame 
for the picture of the home grounds. 

3. Where the place is large enough, walks should curve, 
and at the corners and ground line of the house curves may 
be made by plantings of shrubs and herbaceous plants. 

Beginning the work. Study the map of your home 
grounds as they are, and determine whether it is practicable 
or desirable to remove any plant or object that stands in vio- 
lation of the A, B, C principles given above. 

Improving the lawn. It is not the purpose of this project 
to suggest any elaborate undertaking such as grading, drain- 
ing, plowing, and remaking old lawns; however, some of 
these things might be done by high-school boys. 

1. If the project is begun in the fall, a top-dressing of 
stable manure applied in early winter to be removed in the 
spring would greatly benefit the lawn. This plan might, 
however, be objectionable in some cases. 

2. In the spring the lawn will be benefited by the appli- 
cation of about three hundred pounds of ground bone to the 
acre. The same amount of nitrate of soda will reinvigorate 
the grass. 

3. If there are barren or poorly sodded spots on the lawn, 
the ground may be worked up and re-seeded. Use a mixture 



HOME PROJECTS 367 

of blue-grass, red-top, and white clover seed, at the rate of 
20 pounds blue-grass, 20 pounds red-top, and 5 pounds white 
clover seed to the acre; or some good lawn mixture sold on 
the markets may be more easily obtained. Henderson 's Shady 
Nook grass is excellent to grow under trees and in shady 
nooks. The seed should be sown when the land is moist and 
the weather cool. 

Planting bulbs. If the project is begun in autumn, the 
student should send to some good nursery or purchase from 
a local house a few such bulbs as hyacinth, tulip, daffodils, 
etc., to set in the ground in November for early spring blos- 
soms. Prepare a bed in which to plant the bulbs in a rich, 
well drained place along the border of some shrubs, a fence, 
or near the house. Place a handful of gravel beneath each 
bulb, cover it with three to four inches of soil, and mulch 
the ground well with strawy manure. Remove the mulch 
in the spring and the bulbs will do the rest. 

In early spring such bulbs as canna, calladium, lily, gladio- 
lus, and dahlia may be set as described above. The student 
should get a few bulbs of this kind to use in the early work 
on the home grounds. 

Seeding for herbaceous plants. The following seed should 
be obtained and planted as described below : 

1. Castor beans. Send for a dozen or more castor beans. 
Get the seeds as early as possible, and plant them in a box 
or pot indoors in order to have early plants to transplant as 
soon as the ground warms in the spring, and the danger of 
frost is past. Transplant the bean plants to rich loam soil 
when they have four or six leaves. Place them in groups of 



368 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

three or four, five or six feet apart, at the corner of the house, 
at the back of the lawn, or to screen objectionable views. 

2. Cosmos. Prepare a long border bed against a fence, 
or to screen the garden or some ugly object from view, and 
sow the cosmos seeds rather thickly. 

3. Nasturtiums. Sow early a bed of nasturtiums along 
the ground line of the house or porch, and provide supports 
for them to vine upon. 

4. Dwarf sunflowers. A row of these plants may be 
grown about the poultry yards and garden, or they may be 
grown in a mass to hide some unsightly object. 

5. Sweet peas. A border bed of sweet peas is always 
delightful, either at the house or in front of a taller mass of 
shrubs or plants. 

6. Any other annual or perennial which the student de- 
sires to grow jnay be used in the project. 

Vines. At least one vine should be planted at the porch 
to aid in the work of beautifying the home grounds. Get 
one or two moon-vine plants and set in rich ground at the 
porch. The common wild woodbine is an excellent one to 
use. 

Shrubs and trees. It may not be practical in many home 
grounds for the student to attempt any planting of shrubs 
or trees, but, if at all possible, at least one tree should be 
planted and a few shrubs set out in this project. 

Get from the woods any common, native, small tree and 
transplant to the border of the yard. Observe carefully all 
the rules of transplanting. Dogwood, redbud, maple, ash, or 



HOME PROJECTS 359 

even oak may be successfully transplanted and would add 
much to the home grounds. 

Such wild shrubs as sumac, elder, hazel, and the prairie 
rose are to be commended for home grounds. The student 
should transplant at least one shrub in this project. The 
Spirea Van Houttei, the hydrangeas, and the barberries are 
popular ornamental shrubs. 

Summer care. Keep the lawn well clipped, and water if 
the weather be extremely dry. Keep weeds out of all flower 
beds and the soil loosely mulched. Keep the yard neat and 
clean from all trash and clutter. 

Notebook records. In addition to the map of the yard 
as required at the beginning of the project, the student should 
keep a diary record of all operations on the home ground. 

HOME PROJECT 17 

Care op Fruit Trees 

Select at least six fruit trees of bearing age to use in 
this project. Make the following notes and records in the 
agricultural notebook: 

1. Trees' name, variety, age, location, trees near, general 
condition, past record of the trees as to fruitfulness. 

2. Condition of soil, cultivated or in sod, clay, loam or 
sandy loam, drainage, fertilizers used in past. 

Soil improvement. If water stands about the trees at 
any season for any length of time, drainage should be given. 
(Use tile drains.) 



370 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

If the soil is sour, limestone should be used. To ascertain 
whether the soil is acid, take a ball of moist soil from beneath 
the trees and press it about a strip of blue litmus paper. If 
after ten or fifteen minutes the paper turns red, it is an indi- 
cation that lime is needed. Spread about two bushels of 
slaked lime on the ground under each tree. Work it into the 
ground. This may be done at any time. 

If the ground about the trees has not been cultivated, good 
results may be obtained by the use of dynamite. About one- 
fourth of a stick placed about two feet deep in the ground 
on each of the four sides of the tree will loosen up the ground 
and revive the tree. The dynamite should be used only by 
an experienced man. 

If practicable, the soil about the trees should be spaded 
or plowed up as early in the spring as possible. About a 
half ton of stable manure should be spread about under each 
tree, when only a few trees are to be cared for. Providing 
a mulch of strawy manure under each tree would be the most 
practical way to treat the soil in this project. 

Pruning". At any time before the buds open in the spring 
the fruit trees should be pruned. The older apple, pear, or 
peach trees will probably need severe pruning. This will 
consist mainly in lowering the crown, cutting out dead and 
dying branches, and all limbs that run criss-cross and rub 
against other branches. The following principles should gov- 
ern the work of pruning : 

1. Be able to give a reason for every cut made. 

2. Never leave stubs — always prune immediately above a 
living branch which is to be left. 



HOME PROJECTS 371 

3. Make the cut smooth and close to the branch or trunk. 

4. Paint over the cut surface with white or red lead, or 
with creosote solution. 

Spraying. In this project four sprayings are recom- 
mended : 

1. Spray the fruit trees before the buds open in the spring 
with a concentrated lime-sulphur solution, one gallon to ten 
or twelve of water. This spraying cleans the trees of scale 
and of many fungous diseases. 

2. Spray again within a week after blossoms have fal- 
len. Use this time a solution composed of one and one-fourth 
gallons lime-sulphur, two and one-half pounds lead arsenate 
in fifty gallons of water. This spraying controls the codling 
moth, the leaf-eating insects, and such diseases as the apple 
scab, rust, brown rots, etc. 

3. Spray the third time, using the same material, about 
three weeks later. This spraying is effective against the cod- 
ling moths as they are seeking the apple, other chewing in- 
sects, and the diseases mentioned above. 

4. The fourth spraying should be done about the last of 
July. Use lead arsenate, Bordeaux mixture (4 pounds cop- 
per-sulphate, 4 pounds lime) w^ith fifty gallons of water. This 
spraying is to com.bat the second brood of codling moth, leaf- 
eating insects, and plant diseases, especially the bitter rot. 

5. Use a good barrel spray pump and thoroughly spray 
each tree. 

Grafting. In connection Avith this project the student 
should do some top grafting on his fruit trees. This work 
should be done in the spring before the buds open. Select a 



372 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

good, health}^ branch from three-fourths inch to two inches 
in diameter in the top of the tree upon which the graft is 
to be made. Make a smooth, square cut for a stock upon 
which the scion is to be inserted. Select two scions for each 
graft. These scions should be from bearing trees of the vari- 
ety desired and from last year's growth. Cut each scion to 
three buds. Make a cleft in the stock, and insert the scion 
according to directions given in the chapter on orcharding. 
The teacher should demonstrate this work. Grafting wax 
should be placed over all exposed cut surfaces. 

Setting out a young orchard. The student may choose 
this phase of the orchard project instead of one of the 
preceding if he wishes. 

1. Select at least one acre, preferably on rolling land, to 
use in this project. The soil should be fertile and well 
drained. Plow the ground deep and prepare it for planting 
in the fall. The trees may be planted either in October and 
November or in April. 

2. Send to a reliable nursery for the stock. Use apple 
trees in this project. To plant the acre will require about 
thirty-six trees. Select varieties to produce apples for sum- 
mer and winter use according to the tastes of the family. 

3. Lay out the acre orchard plot in rows so that the trees 
will be either in squares or in triangles, 36 feet apart. The 
triangular arrangement is preferable, since more trees may 
be planted to the acre. 

4. Prepare ample space in the ground for the roots of the 
young trees, and firm the soil well around the roots. Prune 
the roots to eight or ten inches in length before planting. 



HOME PROJECTS 



373 



Leave a loose soil mulch over the surface of the ground about 
the trees. 

5. If the trees are planted in the fall, some mechanical 
protection should be made against the rabbits. A roll of 
common window screen about the trunks affords good pro- 
tection. Wrappings of burlap, cloth, coarse paper, or other 
substances will serve to protect the young tree trunks. 

6. In the spring before the buds open the young trees 
should be pruned. Leave the lowest branch from 24 to 30 
inches from the ground ; cut back all the branches to 8 or 10 
buds. Prevent forking branches, and leave a central branch 
to rise above the others. 

7. During the spring months and as late as the middle of 
July cultivate the young orchard, keeping down all grass and 
weeds and providing a soil mulch. After the last cultivation 
sow the orchard to cow-peas, soy beans, vetch, or clover to 
provide a winter mulch and to enrich the orchard soil. 

Notebook records. Keep a map of the orchard showing 
location and names of varieties planted. Keep a cost account 
of all expenses incurred in the project, including cost of 
material and labor. Estimate the profit or loss. Keep a diary 
of operations performed in the orchard from the beginning 
to the sov/ing of a cover crop in July. 

HOME PROJECT 18 

Planting a Catalpa Grove 

Select a plot of fertile, well-drained ground from one-tenth 
to one acre in size to be used for growing catalpa. 

Preparation of ground. The little trees may be planted 



374 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

in the fall or spring. In either case plow the ground deep 
and harrow it down well. I^ay the ground off in furrows six 
feet apart each way and set the trees where the furrows 
cross. 

Procuring the trees. Send to a reliable nursery for 
cntalpa speciosa. Insist on the speciosa. About 1,000 trees 
may be planted on an acre. These will cost about $5 a 
thousand for seedlings. The Ohio Valley Nursery Company, 
Lake, Indiana; the Little Tree Farms, Farmington, Mass.; 
Storrs, Harrison & Company, Painesville, Ohio, are reliable 
dealers in catalpa. 

"When the little trees arrive, plant them carefully on the 
ground prepared. Thrust the spade into the ground at the 
intersection of the furrows, pry the soil back, and insert the 
roots of the little tree in place. Firm the earth well about 
the roots. 

Cultivation. During the first three or four seasons after 
planting, the little trees should be cultivated during May, 
June, and part of July to keep the weeds down and to hasten 
the growth. When the cultivation ceases in July it is well 
to soAV a crop of cow-peas or soy beans among the trees to 
provide a winter m.ulch and a green manure to be plowed 
under in cultivation the next season. 

During the growing season all side shoots and forking 
branches appearing on the young trees should be broken off. 
This will hasten the growth of the central stem and make 
clean, straight boles in the trees. 

Notebook record. The student should record all opera- 
tions in his agricultural notebook. 



HOME PROJECTS 375 

HOME PROJECT 19 

Growing Sudx\n Grass 

With the growing popularity of this new forage crop, it 
is well for the student to undertake as a home proje(it the 
growth of at least one-tenth of an acre of sudan grass. 

The plant. It is a tall annual grass growing from a height 
of six to eight feet. The stems are fine and leafy. They stool 
out to as many as twenty to one hundred stalks from a single 
root. The sudan grass lacks root stalk, and can never become 
a troublesome weed. 

Seeding. In the spring, at about the time the corn is 
planted, the same ground and the same seed-bed preparation 
required for corn may be used for the sudan grass. Sudan 
grass may be sown in midsummer after oats, wheat, or rye. 
Sow one-half of the area broadcast, and the other half drilled 
in rows thirty-six inches apart. It would be well to have 
about one pound of seed for this project. The drilled por- 
tion of the plot should be cultivated to keep down the weeds 
during its early growth. 

Cutting. Sudan grass is a rapid grower, and may be cut, 
under favorable climatic conditions, twice during the season. 
It is best cut when in full bloom, and early cutting is advis- 
able when more cuttings are expected. The grass can be cut 
with a mower or a binder, and the hay cures readily in bun- 
dles. 

The second crop, if allowed to mature, may yield an excel- 
lent crop of seed, and, since the price of seed varies from 
fifty cents to one dollar per pound, the production of sudan 



376 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

grass seed is a profitable undertaking. Seed grown for com- 
mercial purposes should be grown on land not infected with 
Johnson grass. Johnson grass is abundant, and grass seed 
for sale should be raised in cultivated rows, taking care to 
hoe out any Johnson grass that may appear. 

Notebook record. The student who carries out this project 
should keep record of the following points: 

The amount of land utilized. 

The time and method of preparation of seed-bed. 

The method and amount of seeding. 

The favorableness of season. 

The time from planting to blossoming. 

The time of cutting. 

The difference in growth observed between the plot sown 
broadcast and the one drilled. 

The success of the second crop. 

The amount of hay and seed produced. 

The total cost of the project, item hy item. 

The total value of the crop. 

The profit or loss sustained. 

HOME PROJECT 20 

Making a Concrete Walk 

The project. For this project the student should con- 
struct, according to the directions given below, a strip of 
concrete walk either at the school or at home. The time of 
the year and the type of the soil will very largely determine 
the method of laying the foundation for the walk. 



HOME PROJECTS 377 

The foundation. A good foundation is an important essen- 
tial in the construction of a concrete sidewalk. As a rule 
under normal conditions of soil and climate the foundation 
should be from 6 inches to 10 inches thick. For this project 
plan to build a walk consisting of a 4-inch layer of concrete 
resting upon a 6-inch foundation, with the surface of the 
walk 2 inches above the level of the ground. Excavate to a 
depth of 8 inches. Fill in 6 inches of cinders, gravel, or 
crushed rock, tamping it down thoroughly as it is being filled. 
It would be a good plan to wet down the foundation as it 
is being tamped. Allow for drainage by extending the exca- 
vation 2 inches or 3 inches on each side of the walk. On each 
side on top of the foundation place 2x4-inch straight string- 
ers, and drive stakes down outside of stringers to hold them 
in place. 

Making the concrete. Use a mixture of 1:2:4 and mix 
with sufficient water to make the concrete moderately wet. 
Tamp the concrete until the water appears on the surface. 
Spread a finishing coat about 1 inch thick made of a mixture 
of 1 :1. To prevent the cement from chipping off, coat the 
cement below the surface layer with pure cement before apply- 
ing the finishing coat. Level off the finishing coat, smooth 
it with a float, and groove with a jointer. Keep the walk 
covered and wet for two or three days after being laid to 
allow it to dry uniformly. Wet sawdust or wet sand is a 
good covering, or strips of canvas held in place by weights 
may be used. 

Notebook record. For the notebook record of this project 
draw a sketch of the sidewalk, showing the depth, length, 



378 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

and various layers used. (Write a paragraph describing the 
method used.) 

Itemize the total expenses of every article used, and the 
cost of the labor employed at 50 cents an hour. 

HOME PROJECT 21 

Making a Farm Gate 

For this project the following material is necessary: 

6 boards pine I"x6"xl2' 
3 boards pine I"x6"x5' 
1 board pine I"x6"x9' 
1 PC. hard wood I"x3"x4' 6" 
1 PC. hickory l"xl"x3' 3" 
1 lb. lOd. nails. 

1 pair hinges 

2 doz. screws 2", No. 10, F. H. B. 

TOOLS 

Steel square Hammer 

Saw Screwdriver 

Sawing* boards to length. The gate is to be 12 feet long ; 
measure up and saw olf six boards of that length. The three 
uprights are to be 5 feet long and the brace is to be 9 feet 
long. The brace should not be beveled until after the gate 
has been assembled. 

Nailing g-ate together. Lay five of the 12-foot boards 6 
inches apart on the floor. Lay the sixth board against 
the edge of the fifth. Lay one upright across each 
end, and drive one nail through the uprights into the 
end of each board properly spaced, with the end of the boards 
flush with the edge of the upright. An easy and satisfactory 
method of spacing the boards is to take a block that has been 



HOME PROJECTS 379 

cut from one of the boards and place it between the last 
board nailed and the next one to be nailed. When you have 
put one nail in each board, then square up the gate with the 
steel square and fasten in place by driving a second nail in 
each board. Four feet from one end, square a line across the 
top and bottom board. This line locates the third cross-piece, 
which should be nailed in place. 

Cutting" bevel on brace. To cut the bevel on the ends of 
the brace, lay it on the gate so that the ends are flush with 
the top of the upright at the end and with the bottom of the 
next upright. Place the steel square so that its edge is flush 
with the edge of the upright, line across the bevel, and saw 
along this line. Repeat at the other end.* 

Notebook record. Draw an accurate design of the gate 
constructed. Give cost of all material and labor used in the 
construction of the gate. 

HOME PROJECT 22 

The Young Farmer's Business Office 

Farming a business. Farming is a real business, a big 
business, a difficult business, and a good business. Every boy 
Avho undertakes a farm project is making a good start as a 
business man. He should have an office of his own. This 
project outlines a scheme by which an office may be fitted out 
for a boy, and everyone who carries on a home project should 
have a farm office of his own. 



*Courtesy of American Book Company, from "Farm Shop Work,' 
by Brace and Mayne. 



380 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

The office. Find some place about your home that you 
can call your office. It may be in your bedroom, in some 
small room, in the corner of a large one, in some building 
near the home, or in a place which you can fix up. Make 
this a place to keep most of your belongings, and to carry on 
your business affairs even if they are small. Call this your 
business office. 

The equipment. In this office have a desk with drawers, 
pigeon-holes, and shelves for keeping your account books, 
bank book, check book, pens, pencils, ink, paper, envelopes, 
bulletins, clippings, crop records, etc. If you cannot buy 
a desk for your office, make one. Instructions for making a 
desk are given further on. Have some book shelves, a calen- 
dar, and some pictures on the walls of your office to make 
it look business-like and attractive. 

Bookkeeping and records. Have a good, permanent, well- 
bound account book or ledger in which to keep an account 
of all your business and the agricultural projects you carry on. 

In the first part of the book you should make a list of what 
you own. This is called an inventory. You might start it 
this way : 

INVENTORY OF WHAT I OWN. 

Date 1916. 

Article Value 

1 Knife $0.35 

2 Books 1.25 

1 Pig 4.75 

1 Office desk 5.00 

Money in bank 7.50 



HOME PROJECTS 381 

On separate pages keep accounts of things you are doing 
for a business. The home project you are carrying on in 
connection with your school agriculture or club work should 
be fully recorded in this book, in addition to such reports as 
are required for the agriculture class or club. 

BUSINESS ACCOUNTS 

Expenses — Corn Project 

Rent of land .$5.00 

Preparation of seed-bed 3.60 

Cost of seed 25 

Cost of fertilizer 1.00 

Cost of cultivation 5.50 

Cost of harvesting 5.00 

Total .$20.35 

Receipts 

Total number bushels $109.37 

Total value of crop 87.50 

Less expenses 20.35 

Net profit $67.15 

How to make the desk. Probably you can find enough 
lumber around home to make a desk. Only the ordinary farm 
tools are necessary. For about $1 you can get enough lum- 
ber at the mills. Have the lumber sawed to make a desk 
top 36 inches high, 10 inches deep, and as wide as necessary 
to fit properly your table top. Fasten together the bottom 
and two upright ends, and make them tight and strong by 
fastening the first cross piece to each upright so that the bot- 
tom shelf will be 10 inches high. It would be best to have 



382 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

grooves for all partitions made at the hmII where you get 
the lumber, unless this work can be done at home or in the 
school. Slide in the two bottom partitions. Put in the second 
horizontal piece five inches above the first, and place the 
partitions for the pigeon-holes. Fasten in the top shelf 
nine or ten inches above the second shelf. Go over all the 
joints and tighten them up. Use finishing nails and drive 
them straight. Plane any joints that are uneven and rough. 
Place the structure on your table in your room. Equip 
your home-made desk with pencils, pens, and such other sup- 
plies as you need to make your farm office ready for use.* 

HOME PROJECT 23 

Farm and Home Survey 

The student choosing this project should carefully copy this 
outline in his notebook and supply all required information regard- 
ing his home and community. 

Location: State, county, township, section, school district. 

1. Owner of the farm. 

2. Number of acres in farm. 

3. Operated by owners or tenant. 

4. Number of years on this farm. 

5. Number of years in the community. 

6. The village center. Population. 

7. Names of persons in the home. Birthplace. Age. 

8. Hired help employed. 

9. Members of family attending school. Kind of school. Are 
the parents willing to have their children study agriculture, domes- 
tic science, etc., in school? 

10. Church affiliations. 

11. Church attendance. Percentage of days for each member. 



*Courtesy of William Kendrick, Morgantown, W. Va. 



HOME PROJECTS 383 

12. Sunday school attendance. Percentage of days for eacli 
member. 

13. Societies or associations represented. 

14. Clubs or lodges. 

15. Does family make use of a public library? 

16. Are agricultural bulletins read in the home? 

17. List of newspapers in the home. 

18. List of magazines in the home. 

19. List of community events attended or shared in. 

20. Members of family who are leaders or officers in any rural 
organization or institution. 

21. Natural resources of the farm. 

Animals: Number and breed of horses, cattle, swine, 
sheep, poultry. 

Fruit: Size, age, and condition of the orchard. 

Size of vegetable garden. 

Farm crops: Number of acres of corn, wheat, oats, tim- 
othy, clover. Yield of corn, wheat, oats, timothy, clover. 
Number of acres of alfalfa; yield. Number of acres in pas- 
ture. Number of acres in wood lot; second growth or 
planted. 

22. Number of acres of waste land. Why waste? 

23. Farm equipment, buildings, implements (sheltered?), con- 
veyances. 

24. Modern conveniences in the farm home. 

25. Size of yard. What measures for beautifying yard and 
farm? 

26. Health conditions: Deaths in the family; causes. What 
diseases have been in the home during the past three years? What 
is done to combat the house fly? What is the source of the water 
supply? How is waste and sewage disposed of? Are the living 
and sleeping rooms well ventilated? Are there any superstitions 
about health? 

Community Census 

(Answer as fully as possible.) 

I. Natural Resources: 

1. General topography and elevation. 

2. Is there a soil survey of your community? If so, what is 
the soil type? The limiting soil elements? 



384 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

3. "What mineral resources has the community? 

4. What farm products are sold out of the community? 

5. What farm products are bought by the community? 

6. What are the manufacturing interests of the community? 

7. Is the community conserving its natural resources? 

n. Human Resources: 

1. The general moral and intellectual tone of the community. 

2. Are there any vicious forces in the community? 

3. Who are the strong leaders in the community life? 

4. Has the community ever sent out any men or women who 
have become famous in the world's work? 

5. Has the community any memories or traditions which should 
be respected by coming generations? 

6. Are there any latent human resources unappreciated and 
undeveloped? 

m. Economic Activities and Interests: 

1. The leading industries. 

2. Means of transportation. 

3. Means of communication. 

4. Condition of roads. 

5. Average land values. 

6. Is there any cooperative buying and selling in the neighbor- 
hood? Do you have good markets? 

7. Is there a drift from the country to the city in your com- 
munity? If so, give the reasons for moving from country to city. 

IV. Community Health: 

1. General standard of health in the community. 

2. Are the health officers intelligent and alert in doing their 
duty? 

3. Have there been any serious epidemics in recent years? 

4. What influences are at work to improve health and sanitary 
conditions? 

V. Local History: 

1. Was the region occupied by Indians before the white men 
came? What Indian history is known? 

2. Are there any Indian relics or indications of former occu- 
pancy? 



HOME PROJECTS 385 

3. Who was the first white man in the coninnmity? What is 
known of him? 

4. What was the first school and church in the community? 

5. Are there any pioneers left to tell the early history? 

6. Has the community ever suffered great disaster? 

7. Did war ever touch the community? 

8. Have soldiers ever gone from the community to war? 

9. Has the community ever taken part in any events noted in 
history? 

10. Are there any great public works near? 

11. Are there any historic sites near? 

12. What has hindered or helped most in the community devel- 
opment? 

13. New England or southern ancestry? 

VT. Political Life: 

1. What political parties in the community? 

2. Which party predominates? 

3. Are there many independent voters? 

4. Attitude of people toward payment of taxes? Do the farm- 
ers feel over-burdened? 

5. What are the various tax rates for various purposes? State, 
county, town, road, special road, school. 

6. What is the assessed value of the property of the district? 

7. Do the people know how the public money is being used? 

8. Is there any feeling of class distinction in the community? 

9. Is there a public opinion in the community favoring the 
enforcement of law? 

10. Is anything being done for the civic education of the com- 
munity? 

VII. The Country Beautiful: 

1. What natural objects of beauty in the community? 

2. Is the community doing anything to protect and preserve 
the natural beauty? 

3. What influences and factors, if any, are working to destroy 
the natural beauty? 

4. What beautiful buildings are in the community? 

5. Are the streets of the town and country beautiful? 

6. Are there any parks that have been beautified? 



386 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

7. What influences are working to add beauty to the com- 
munity? 

VIII. General Social Life: 

1. What are the objects that draw people together in your 
community? 

2. Are there any social gatherings which include the whole 
community? 

3. Forms of commercialized social gatherings. 

4. Are there any influences which interfere with the neighbor- 
liness of the community? 

5. Special efforts made to provide social life for the young 
people. 

6. Is there any home or community interest in the proper asso- 
ciation of the young people with each other, or do the adults hold 
aloof and let the young folks go their way? 

7. Is the social life of the community organized around any 
social center? 

8. Is there a federation of community organizations? 

IX. Recreations, Play, and Amusements: 

1. List the recreational activities of your community. In-door. 
Out-door. 

2. What institutions are actively interested in the recreation? 
of the people? 

3. Do the homes provide adequate recreation? 

4. What organizations are making provisions for the recrea- 
tional activities? 

5. What festivals, pageants, celebrations, etc., are held? 

6. Is the play life in the community a constructive element? 

X. Religious Life: 

1. Are the churches strengthening the religious life of the 
community? 

2. How many churches and for what population? 

3. How long is the average pastorate? Does the minister re- 
ceive a living salary? Does he live in the community? 

4. Do the ministers visit the homes, and are they conversant 
with the occupations of their members? 

5. Are the churches strong in their leadership for a progressive 
country life? 



HOME PROJECTS 387 

6. Are there any organizations for young men and young 
women connected with the church? Give name and number of 
members in each organization. 

7. Are there meetings, lectures, Sunday schools, or chautauquas 
for general religious education? 

XI. Intellectual Life: 

1. Is there a community interest in maintaining good schools? 

2. What organizations in the community outside of the school 
contribute to the intellectual life? 

3. Kind of grade school in the community? One teacher or 
consolidated? 

4. Is a high school within reach of every boy and girl when 
he or she is ready for it? 

5. Is vocational work taught in the schools? State what is 
taught if vocational work is offered. 

6. Is the school attempting to reach out and contribute to 
the education of the whole community? In what ways? 



APPENDIX 

AGRICULTURAL CLUBS IN HIGH SCHOOLS 

With the growth and development of agricultural departments in 
our high schools, there ought to be an increasing number of boys 
and girls who are interested permanently in country life. In many 
of the high schools of the state a large percentage of the students are 
from the country. Many of the country boys and girls, whether 
studying agriculture or not, are proud to be country born and bred, 
and would be glad to form an organization having the strong tie of 
country life interests as the fraternal bond of such a group. 

These clubs may be considered as having rather free filial rela- 
tionships with the same organizations in the state universities. They 
will at any rate train up good members for the collegiate organiza- 
tions, should the student go to the university, or prepare good lead- 
ers for such organizations, should the student return to a country 
life vocation. There is a slight possibility that the Collegiate Clubs 
might be able to send delegates to those high schools wishing to 
form such an organization. 

The following constitution is recommended in order to have uni- 
formity in these clubs: 

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 

OF THE 

HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL AND COUNTRY 

LIFE CLUB 

Article 1. Name 

Section 1. The name of this organization shall be 

High-School Agricultural and Country Life Club. 



Article 2. Objects 
Section 1. The object of this organization shall be: To encour- 
age the study of agriculture and household science in the school 

388 



APPENDIX 389 

and home, and to cultivate among the boys and girls of the high 
school a love for the open country, the farm life, and the country 
home. 

Section 2. To promote contests in plant growing, animal raising, 
and the holding of exhibitions of farm products grown or produced 
by the members of the club. 

Section 3. To train active and efficient leaders among young men 
and women for rural life progress. 

Section 4. To furnish opportunity through organization for social 
activities, such as literary programs, social gatherings, out-door 
picnics, play festivals, etc. 

Article 3. Members 

Section 1. All the boys and girls of the high school who are 
sincerely interested in agriculture and country life are eligible for 
active membership. 

Section 2. Pupils in the seventh and eighth grades and young 
people not in school may be elected as associate members with all 
privileges of the club except holding office or voting. New members 
are elected by a majority vote of the club at the next meeting fol- 
lowing the presentation of their names. 

Article 4. Officers 

Section 1. The officers of the High-School Agricultural and Coun- 
try Life Club shall be president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, 
and program committeeman. 

Section 2. It shall be the duty of the president to preside at all 
meetings, preserve order, and demand obedience to all rules. His 
emblem is a red ribbon worn on the lapel of his coat. The vice- 
president shall assist the president in all his duties, and preside 
in his absence. His emblem is a blue ribbon. The program com- 
mitteeman shall arrange the literary program for all regular meet- 
ings, calling to his assistance any two members as program com- 
mittee if he wishes, and shall submit the program to the principal 
of the school for his approval. His emblem is a green ribbon. The 
secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings, receive fees and 
dues of all members, pay the same to the treasurer, take and keep 
his receipts thereof. His emblem is a white ribbon. The treasurer 
shall take charge of and keep all money of the club, and pay out 
the same only upon orders signed by the president and secretary. 
His emblem is a yellow ribbon. 



390 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 

Section 3. The officers shall be elected by the club for one year 
at the last regular meeting in May. 

Article 5. Meetings 

Section 1. The Agricultural and Country Life Club shall meet 
every two or four weeks, at the place and time designated by the 
club, upon the approval of the high-school principal. 

Section 2. The order of business at the regular meetings shall 
be as follows: 

1. Call to order by President. 

2. Roll-call. 

3. Reading of minutes. 

4. Literary program. 

5. Reports of committees. 

6. Proposals for membership. 

7. Voting on new members. 

8. General business. 

9. Adjournment. 

Article 6 

Section 1. The regular program shall consist of music, recita- 
tions, readings, essays, orations, debates, and extemporaneous talks, 
etc. The public should be invited to these meeting. 

Section 2. The club shall co-operate with all local and county 
agricultural movements, contests, etc., such as corn growing, gar- 
den work, and household science clubs. 

Section 3. An annual exhibit of farm products is recommended. 
The club should provide a program, invite the patrons of the school, 
and through the principal make provisions for ribbons or prizes for 
the best exhibits. 

Section 4. The club shall arrange an annual picnic or play festi- 
val some time during the latter part of the school year. Programs 
of music, declamations, athletic events, refreshments, etc. shall be 
provided by the club. 

Article 7 

Section 1. The letter (C) shall be adopted as the badge and 
emblem of the Agricultural and Country Life Club, and may be 
worn by all members. 

Section 2. Any member of the club who shall have distinguished 
himself in any one or more agricultural or country life achieve- 



APPENDIX 391 

ments, snch as winning first or second honors in state or county 
plant or animal growing contests; winning honors in household 
science contests; growing as much as an acre of any standard farm 
crop and producing above the average in yield for that crop in the 
state; owning and caring for some pure-bred domestic animal accord- 
ing to approved methods; any other country life achievement show- 
ing superior ability, shall, upon the recommendation of the princi- 
pal of the school, have conferred upon him at the agricultural short 
course at the state university, by the presidents of the Agricultural 
Club and the Collegiate Country Life Club of the state the honorary 
title of "Master Countryman." 



REFERENCES 
Text-Books 

Principles and Practices of Poultry Culture — Robinson. 

Profitable Poultry Keeping — Davis. 

Animal Husbandry for Schools — Harper. 

Beginnings in Animal Husbandry — Plumb. 

Field Crops Production — Livingston. 

Field Crops — Wilson and Warburton. 

Productive Orcharding — Sears. 

Productive Vegetable Gardening — Lloyd> 

Manual of Gardening — Bailey. 

Orchard and Garden — Douglas. 

Farm Crops and Soils — Mosier. 

Bulletins and Circulars 

Feeding Dairy Cattle— Circular 152, 111. Exp. St. 

Feeding the Pig— Circular 133, 111. Exp. St. 

Farmers Bulletin No. 409, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

Corn Day Annual — Illinois State Department of Public Instruction. 

Alfalfa— Circular 12, Illinois Exp. St. 

The Home Vegetable Garden— Circular 154, 111. Exp. St. 

Farmers' Bulletin, No. 245, U. S. Dept. of Agr. 

Potato Primer — Mass. Agr. College Circular. 

Onion Culture— Cir. 173, 111. Exp. St. 

Farm Craft Lessons— U. S. Boys Working Reserve. 



INDEX 



Agronomy, 9. 
Alfalfa, 40, 

Plant of, 40, 

Values of, 41. 
Animal Husbandry, 131. 
Apple, The, 273. 

Brood Sow, Care of, 190. 
Butter, 166. 

Cheese, 167. 
Chinch Bug, 80. 
Cholera, Hog, 191. 
Church, The Country, 239. 
Clover, 32, 

Manural Value of, 35, 

Red Clover, 33, 36, 

Rotation of, 34. 
Codling Moth, 274. 
Cold Frames, 306. 
Colorado Potato Beetle, 301. 
Corn, 53, 

Importance of, 54, 

Indian Corn, 53, 

Insects Injurious to, 79, 

Life Cycle of, 56, 

Plant of, 57, 

Products of, 82, 

Rotation of, 59, 

Testing seed of, 66, 

Types of, 55. 
Country Life Clubs, 231, 

Activities of, 233. 
Country, Beautifying the, 309. 
Crops, List of Forage, 49. 
Curculio, 275. 
Cutworms, 302. 

Dairy Cattle, 159, 
Breeds of, 161, 
Characteristics of, 162, 
Differences in, 168, 
Feeding and Care of, 172, 
Products of, 165. 



Eggs, Preserving, 208. 

Farm Management, 215. 
Fertility, Soil, 101. 
Forests, The, 243, 

National Forests, 245, 

Of the United States, 247. 
Forestry, Farm, 241. 
Fruit, Packing and Storing, 276, 

Types of, 272, 

Varieties of, 261. 
Fruit Growing on The Farm, 259. 

Garden, The Home, 286, 

Pests of, 299. 
Grafting, 271, 371. 

Hay, 49, 50. 
Hessian Fly, 18. 
Hogs, 179, 

Market Classes and Grades of, 
193. 
Home Projects, 315-387. 
Hopkins, Dr. Cyril G., 32, 103. 
Horse, The, 133, 

Breeds and Types of, 136, 

Colic of, 151, 

Draft, 137, 

Farm, 138, 

Feeding and Care of, 145, 150, 

Founder of, 151, 

Grading up of, 141, 

Judging, 143, 

Lameness of, 152, 

Moon Blindness of, 154, 

Ringbone of, 153, 

Spavin, 153, 

Splints, 152, 

Training of, 147, 

Work of, 133. 
Horticulture, 241. 
Hotbed, The, 295, 306. 

Insects Injurious to Corn, 79. 



393 



394 



INDEX. 



Lice, 79, 301. 

Lime in Soils, 101, 113. 

Live-stock Farming, 131. 

Maize, 53. 
Marketing, 317, 

Preparing Products for, 302. 
Meadows, 49, 51. 
Milk, 165. 

Nitrogen in Soils, 120. 
Nut Crops, 250, 
Varieties of, 250. 

Oats, 26, 

Rotation of, 27, 

Smut of, 28, 30, 

Types of, 26. 
Orchard, The, 259, 

Care of, 265, 

Pests in, 274, 

Renovation of Old Orchards, 
268, 

Setting Out, 372, 

Spraying, 270. 
Organizations, Country Life, 227, 

Agricultural Improvement As- 
sociations, 232, 

American Society of Equity, 
230, 

Boys and Girls Agricultural 
Clubs, 232, 

Farmers' Institutes, 230, 

Farmers' Union, 230, 

Grange, The, 229. 

Pastures, 49, 50. 

Pests in the Orchard, 274. 

Phosphorus in Soils, 110. 

Pig Raising, 173. 

Plants, How They Grow, 10, 

Germination of, 10. 
Potassium in Soils, 112. 
Poultry, 197, 

Diseases Among, 208, 

House for, 205, 

Rations for Laying Hens, 203, 

Standard Breeds of, 198. 



Records and Accounts, Farm, 

218. 
Roads, The, 238. 
Root-Louse, Corn, 79. 

San Jose Scale, 275. 
Seed-Bed, The, 287. 
School, The Country, 237. 
Soils, 91, 

Effect of Lime in, 101, 113, 

Fertility of, 101, 103, 106, 108, 
117, 

Formation of, 92, 

Nitrogen in, 120, 

Phosphorus in, 110, 

Potassium in, 112. 
Spraying the Orchard, 270, 371. 
Striped Cucumber Beetle, 300. 
Swine, 179, 

Bacon-type, 183, 

Feed and Management of, 188, 

History of, 179, 

Importance of, 179, 

Lard-type, 181, 

Types and Breeds of, 181. 

Tomato Raising, 347. 
Transpiration of Plants, 11. 
Transplanting, Principles of, 295. 
Trees, 241, 

In the Landscape, 252. 

Vegetable Gardening, 286, 

Planting Dates and Varieties 
Recommended for, 292. 

Water-glass, 208. 
Wheat, 13, 

Diseases of, 18, 

Kernel of, 23, 

Preparing the Soil for, 15, 

Varieties of, 13. 
Wood Lot, The Farmer's, 248. 
Worm, Corn Ear, 81, 

Green Cabbage, 299, 

Joint, 20. 

Yellows, of Peaches, 275. 



